Sun Emperor
by Sypnotick
Summary: A mercenary, who has fought far too many battles encounters something he has never seen before. A small boy with the sunrise on his head and the sky in his eyes. Is this encounter put together by fate? What will become of the boy and the mercenary? And how will the story change once the boy comes to the stage?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - I own nothing, but the head on my shoulders.

Chapter 1: A boy bathed in sunshine

A dark night. Rain pouring down and forming a curtain. Inside a forest stood a man, watching flickering lights in the distence. With brown, sharp eyes he stood in the rain, disregarding his wet clothes. He didn't seem uncomfortable, in fact, he seemed even slightly at peace in the rain. But he didn't let the feeling take hold and he simply stood there, watching the flickering lights.

He heard a small rustling of the bush behind him, but he simply stood there, watching. "Hey, Arata, how is it looking? Any changes?" A guys concealed within a dark brown cloak emerged from the bush and asked the silent man. The man, Arata, wasn't flustered or distracted in the least, he simply continued watching, like a hawk eyeing its prey.

"Same as before. Those bastards are within their camp, partying." He answered after a moment. He turned around and looked at the man with the cloak, "How is everything at base camp?" He asked.

The man walked next to Arata and took a look at the flickering lights, "Captain said we will move out soon. Its best that you prepare yourself."

Arata raised one eyebrow and then looked up "In this rain?" He asked.

The man shrugged, "Captain's orders. He thinks this will be the best time, while we have the advantage of the dark, rain and they are drunk."

Arata frowned, "The rain favours no one." He said quietly.

The man smirked, "But it will be hard for those bastards to relay their orders across the camp. Meanwhile, we will be organised from the start. I agree with the captain. These are far from ideal conditions, but with this type of advantage the chances of us failing are low."

Arata didn't put too much thought in it, after all, their captain was a veteran. He was used to fighting those bastards, so he looked away from the man and continued watching the lights. The man simply shrugged, "Well, anyway, that was my message. Prepare yourself, we will be heading out soon. Captain himself will brief you once we are ready to attack."

Arata simply nodded and didn't pay attention as the man pulled his cloak tighter and walked back into the darkness. As he watched the flickering lights, Arata's relaxed eyes quickly became focused, like a tiger ready to strike down at his prey.

Some time later, Arata stood there listening to his captain giving him his orders, listening quietly to the old veteran. The man himself wasn't spectacular. Short brown hair, a few scars on his face and armour covered his body. His looks were average and fell below average because of the scars, but the man's aura was unmistakable. That was an aura of a man who fought many battles and used his nails and teeth for a chance at life.

"You understand your orders?" The old veteran asked.

Arata nodded his head, "Loud and clear, captain."

The captain smirked. He wasn't really worried about Arata, becaus in their group, he was the second best, only slightly losing out to him, but given a few years Arata would definitely surpass the captain. So he turned around and walked back to the group of about 20 cloaked figures.

"Alright, listen up. I will go over the plan one last time, to make sure everyone understands. This is a sneak attack, so no stupid shouting or yelling. Keep quiet until the enemy notices us and starts charging at us with their weapons in hand, understood? I will personally deal with their leader, you guys scatter into groups of five and charge their sleeping quarters. Kill them in their sleep and move on. They outnumber us, so watch each others backs as you move. Quick, quiet and clean. Ideally, we will be able to kill a big portion of them before they manage to organise and come together. We will then surround and kill them. But there is no way it will go ideally so I will leave it to the captains of your groups. Give out orders according to the situation. Any questions?" The veteran spoke in a calm voice, but everyone heard him loud and clear and no one dared to raise their hand.

The man nodded and put his hand on his katana's hilt. The group of soldiers scattered into smaller groups and as soon as the order was given, they started following their captain. As the group ran, they tried to be as quiet as they can, but there was still some noise coming from them, showing that they had no ninja training.

As the group ran, they soon saw the gates to a big outpost of some sort. Two members quickly pulled out their bows and let loose two arrows, killing one guard and injuring the other. The injured guard let out a cry in pain and turned to the rain. He visibly shivered as he saw the group of over 20 men dashing at the outpost with murderous auras. He wanted to turn away, but Arata quickly picked up his speed and closed in on the guard.

The guard raised his own sword to block an attack, but Arata quickly drew out his own katana and slammed it into the guard's, pushing it towards him. Without the delay Arata then kicked the man in the stomach and with a quick move, beheaded him, before he could alert his comrades.

The captain slightly nodded his head, pleased with the progression so far. With a hand signal from him the group continued moving forward and as they entered the camp they started splitting into groups while the captain continued on forward with his own group.

As Arata ran with a small group behind him, he saw a bigger tent. As he was the one who spent the most time scouting, he immediately recognized it as a sleeping quarters. He quickly signaled with his hand to the tent and the group behind him nodded, tightening the grips on their katanas.

As Arata was about to reach the tent, to his surprise a person walked out of the tent. A sleepy and intoxicated expression on his face, but his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the group running at them. The man quickly understood that these men didn't come with friendly intentions so he let out a shout and took out a knife.

Arata only frowned, but didn't stop his movement, he quickly swung his blade at the man, who tried to block it, but he only had a small knife and he was still sleepy and intoxicated so the katana quickly pushed away the knife and a wound appeared on the man's bare chest. The man quickly let out a few curses and ignoring the pain he swung his knife at Arata, who ducked under the strike and ran past the man into the tent.

The man was surprised that Arata dodged his attack and ignored him, but as he turned back forward, fear appeared in his eyes as one of the men behind Arata quickly unsheated his katana and beheaded the man, before following Arata into the tent.

A massacre started as Arata's group quickly slaughtered the still sleepy and unarmed men. Though if one took another glance at the men you would quickly notice the signs. Dirty, unwashed, smelling of liquor. The group were sleeping with knifes under their pillows and they swore so much that even the sun would hide behind the clouds. It would take a person only a few seconds to figure out that all these men were nothing but bandits.

Arata stood among the corpses and took a glance at his men to check on their condition. Only traces of rough breathing could be seen after running in the rain for a while. Pleased that no bandits put up a fight, Arata cleaned his sword on his own cloak and was about to move towards another tent, when he suddenly heard a loud ringing sound. It was a bell. Obviously the bandits noticed their presence and started waking up everyone.

"They reacted faster than we thought. We have to be careful now. Don't lose sight of each other and watch your backs, the next group of bandits we will meet will be armed and awake." Arata quickly said and moved out of the tent with his men.

After running out of the tent, just as Arata said, the bandits were awake now. Shouts were coming from all around the camp and even the attackers stopped hiding their presence and let out battle cries. Arata quickly ascertained the situation around him and he knew that the best he can do right now was to block off the bandits so they won't flank the captain while he was dealing with the boss.

"There is no use going after the bandits now. We will set up a formation and protect the captain's flank. Don't let a single bandit through. The captain will quickly deal with the boss and will start reinforcing the flanks to deal with the remaining bandits." Arata gave out the orders and he and his team set up a small formation to block off the bandits. Of course, due to the rain it was a little hard to determine who was who, but the men stood firmly, waiting for the bandits to come.

Arata quitely sighed as he stood in the rain. Despite the chaos around him, he felt relaxed. Maybe it was because of the rain or maybe because he was starting to grow numb to the killing. He didn't know. But he simply stood there, looking at the sky. The moon and the stars were hidden, but he could still see them. He spent so much time looking at the sky since his childhood that he could clearly imagine the night sky. As the rain fell on him, his body felt relaxed and lighter. As if the accumulated blood was washed off. He felt clean.

"Arata, here they come." A quick shout came from behind him.

Arata's gaze went back from the sky to the ground and sharpened in a second. He watched as a few bandits were running towards them. Arata simply unsheated his katana and took a stance, "And here they come again, ready to meet my sword. How many times have I taken this stance I wonder? For what purpose have I taken it? I have already forgotten... Oh, well. Just like the last time these bandits will be cut down. Why do they never learn? Ah, I want this to be over. I am tired after the watch. I haven't eaten anything today. Why are you charging at me? Can't you see my blade. Aren't you afraid? Is it ignorance or bravery? Loyalty or arrogance? What's the difference. Like the sun comes after the darkest night so they shall fall before my blade like the bandits before them. Come, let me free you of your burden of stupidity."

As a bandit came before Arata, he swung his sword from top to bottom. Arata seeing this blade didn't even react to it, "Just like always. The same slash, the same form. They are all different men, yet why are their faces the same? Just this slash, I have seen it far too many times. Step to the side and thrust your sword forward. No unnescecary movements."

As the blade went past Arata he thrust out his katana, quickly piercing the bandits heart. With a quick move he removed the blade and took his stance again, ignoring the bandit as he fell lifeless next him.

Another bandit came at Arata. He simply took a step back to dodge the swing and then took a step forward, slashing at the bandits knees, "They have no formal training, they have no true battle experience, they know how to swing a sword, but don't know how to move their feet. Slash at the foot and they will become flustered and lost."

Just like Arata narrated in his mind, once the man saw an incoming slash to the knees, he didn't know how to react. After all, he just took a swing at Arata so he won't make it in time to block the attack and these bandits don't know any footwork techniques. The katana flashed by and the leg fell to the ground. The bandit released a loud cry, but the katana didn't stop. Like a hawk diving at his prey, the katana flew forward and beheaded the bandit.

Arata didn't stop for a second as he blocked another attack from another bandit. He seperated from the man and slashed at his knees again. It didn't matter that the bandit saw what he did previously. Just because he saw it once, it doesn't mean he will learn how to defend against it in a matter of a few second, unless he was an unique genius. But to Arata's surprise the man used a quick footwork technique and put some distance between them and then lunged at Arata again.

Arata's surprise was washed away with the next few drops of rain and he locked his katana with his opponent's. The two engaged in a power struggle. The bandit's eyes were shinning from beneath his messy hair. Arata's were indifferent. He had done this a thousand times. This was the one thousand and first. Like a child reciting a poem during morning class, he had been in this situation far too many times. It was etched into his bones.

Loosen your arms, slide to the side. The bandit was pushing forward so after the counter force was lost, he lost his balance and stumbled forward. Take a step forward and slash at his legs and then thrust your blade into his neck. Easy.

But to his surprise the bandit took a step forward and did a small roll, his leg coming out with only a scratch. The bandit stood up and watched Arata with shinning eyes.

"Ahh... There are people like you." Arata thought inside his head. The bandit and Arata quickly stepped forward and started another exchange of blows. Arata's strikes didn't have much form, but he obviously had a lot of experience. The man didn't have experience in fights, but he had form.

"You were once a child brimming with dream and vitality. You had a kind teacher who stood next to you with an encouraging gaze in his eyes, as he watched the young you swing his sword. To earn your teachers praise, you swung it. You had dreams, so you swung it. You wanted to protect your family so you swung it. You had a wonderful life. But the rock you stood upon crumbled. You fell into the abyss. And now, the blade you swung for your dreams, family and teacher is being used just for survival. I saw you. There are many people like you, who fell into the abyss and were forced to become bandits. You don't have the aura of a bandit." Arata locked his blades with the bandit again. Arata wasn't told this or anything. He could see the bandit's story from his battle techniques. Discplined, quick, strong.

Arata could already imagine a small boy standing outside during summer, autumn, winter and spring. He swung his sword. No matter what, he swung his sword. Arata could see his story from his strikes. No bad man, could have put in so much effort into swinging his sword. He was simply an unfortunate man. Arata sighed, as he side stepped an attack.

To his surprise, his back was knocked into a door. He didn't have time to move out of the way as the man didn't swing his sword, he simply lunged at Arata. With great force he grabbed Arata and the two broke through the door and into a small room. The bandit quickly mounted Arata and tried to strangle him, but Arata wasn't giving any ground. He was in this position many times, he bore the pain and blocked the man's moves.

The man gritted his teeth, but nothing changed. Arata's hand quickly went to the side and grabbed a piece of the broken door and stabbed it into the man's leg. The man let out a pained yell and was quickly pushed off of Arata, who took out his knife, placed his knee on the man's arm to pin it in place, blocked his second arm and thrust his knife into the man's neck.

"Thats enough... Go back. Go back to your family, to your teacher, to your home. You don't have to live such a cruel life. Go back and swing your sword. Swing once more, for your teacher, for your family and for your dreams." Arata said quietly, as he watched the man's shinning eyes slowly close and his body relax.

Arata sighed as he looked up and his eyes went wide. Nothing much could surprise him. He had seen many things in his life. At least he thought so, to his surprise before him stood a figure. It wasn't tall. It didn't have a particular aura or anything, the figure simply stood there watching Arata with it's blue shinning eyes.

As Arata took in the appearance of the figure he saw a small boy. He had red, straight long hair. It was like god tore out a piece of the sunsrise and put it on the boy's head. From beneath the long hair, two curious, shinning blue eyes looked at him. Clear like the boundless sky, beckoning one to lose themselves in their splendor. Like a kind mother about to embrace you. White, yet slightly dirty skin. A simple T-shirt and shorts. The boy was like a divinity descended, as he stood there, watching Arata. Arata didn't have much experience with women, living this kind of life he only came into contact with them as he was sitting in a bar, but he didn't socialise much with them.

And so, for the first time in his life, Arata understood the phrase, "Struck speechless by beauty.". He simply couldn't tear away his eyes from the flowing sunset on the boys head or the shinning blue eyes.

"Arata, are you alive?" He faintly heard a yell from behind him and came out of his trance. He shook his head and looked at the boy. After a moment he calmly said, "Don't worry, I will get you out of here soon." He then made sure the bandit beneath him was dead and went out of the house to help his group.

Chapter end.

* * *

 **Hello, everyone. I am the cool, beautiful and strong Sypnotick... Just joking. Don't look at me like that. Anyway, I am a new writer in here and I was simply looking for something to pass my time. And I thought about writting fanfic. I mean, why not. Anyway, this is a little story I came up with and I hope you liked the first chapter. I am a university student, so I don't know about the updates, because I am also looking for a part-time job, so most likely this will only be a weekly thing, sometimes even less frequently. I don't know. I will see how it goes.**

 **Right... I don't know guys, this is my first time writting stuff like this, so give me your opinions. Leave a review, a like or whatever and let me know what you think. I am fairly new so are there any places I should improve upon, or do you think that this type of writting isn't really working and I should try out something else. Give me an opinion, damn it! That's all for my end note, I hope to see you guys soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

disclaimer - I own nothing, but the clothes on my body.

Chapter 2: The mercenary and the boy

"So, to summarise... That boy has amnesia?" The captains gruff voice came out of the tent.

The battle was over. The mercenaries had won. It was already the next day and they were camping out some distance from the bandit outpost. Checking their inventory, tending to the wounded and organising themselves. After the rain, the sun shines the brightest, or so they say, and indeed, the sun was very bright today, with not a single cloud in sight. Arata and the captain were talking in the captain's tent and no one was paying them any attention.

To the captain's question Arata simply nodded. After washing away the dirt, blood and now standing in the sun, his figure could clearly be seen. Brown eyes and short brown hair that was swept towards the back. His features were above average and the longer one looked at them, the prettier he seemed. His height was average, but with his indifferent aura and straight back he let out an aura of a person that is hard to approach.

Though regarding the boy, there wasn't much to say. After the battle he brought back the boy and tried to find out his identity and where he came from, so he could be returned to his family, but to his surprise, the boy couldn't remember anything, not even his own name.

The captain sighed, "This is starting to turn into a troublesome matter... We saved him so we have to take responsibility and see this matter through to the end, but if the kid has amnesia, its a whole other story. Its not like we can just drag him around."

Arata nodded. The kid's parents must be very worried, so they need to return him. There was no need for a child to take up the blade and live a bloody life like them. He could make something out of himself in this world. So the captain and Arata tried to think of something, but ultimately came up with no ideas. Its not like they could simply go around every single village and ask if this kid was their's. After all, the kid had no visible traits that belonged to any nation, so they would have to travel across the entire world and ask every single village, which was simply impossible.

The captain put a hand to his beard and was in thought, "Either way, it looks like we can't really do much. Our only hope is that the kid will regain at least some of his memories that could help us out, but until then, I suppose we can only look after him."

Arata nodded again. Neither men really wanted to abandon the child. They saved him, so now they have to take responsibility.

The captain let out another sigh and looked at Arata, "Well, there really isn't much we can do. First lets check the villages these bandits attacked recently and see if this child belonged to any of them, if not, then we will look after him until he gets back at least some of his memories and then we will return him. While he is in our group, he is your responsibility, got it?"

Arata nodded, "Understood, captain."

Without wasting any more time Arata walked out of the tent and walked to another tent, the tent which was given to the boy. Arata called out to the boy and then went inside the tent. There, he saw the boy standing with a towel on his head. After a quick washing by the river, the boy looked even prettier than before. His red hair was shinning like the first rays of the sun, his blue eyes looked at him, curiosity could be seen within them and his white skin, free from dirt, looked very smooth. Overall, it was pretty easy to mistake the boy as a lady if you didn't look closely. Heck, Arata could bet his entire savings that it would be difficult to find a woman prettier than this boy.

Arata quickly understood why the boy was in the bandit camp. It was very easy to see that any rich person would pay large sums to get his hands on such a unique child. After examining the child, he let out a small sigh, "Still nothing? Not even your own name?" He asked.

The boy shook his head slightly, "I only remember the time when I woke up in the bandit camp. I spent a few days there and then you found me."

Arata nodded, "As it stands, we have no way of returning you to your family. We will do several checks on the villages the bandits raided recently. If it turns out you are not from any of them, we will look after you until we can find out who you are and how to return you home... Is that alright with you?" They didn't have much of a choice. He knew it, and the boy, despite his lack of memory, seemed intelligent, so he should also know it. But, regardless, Arata still asked if it was alright. He didn't know why, but he had this sense that he should look after the kid.

The boy let a small and reserved smile appear on his face, "Yes, thank you very much. I will be in your care for a while."

Arata nodded his head, "If you need anything, then come and find me." He said as he left the tent.

Outside, Arata stood next to the tent, looking at the clear skies. He didn't know why, but around the child he was very careful. It confused even him. And then there was the child's gaze. His eyes were like the skies today. Clear, without a single cloud in sight. He was just a child, but it seemed like his gaze could see right through you, but it didn't make you uncomfortable, it just made you want to get closer to the child and tell him of your worries and sorrows.

This was the first time Arata encountered a person like that. After shaking his head he looked back to the ground and walked to his tent.

The boy was sitting inside his own tent. A towel around his neck, but he didn't bother drying his hair. He let some drops of water fall off his hair onto the ground as he sat on a chair, "Hmmm... What a peculiar perosn." The boy said quietly. Despite his situation, he wasn't scared. Most children would be scared out of their wits after waking up in a bandit outpost with no memory and enduring the lustful gazes of some of the bandits. Then, seeing a slaughter happen right before his eyes. But this child was calm. He didn't know why, but he simply didn't feel threatened. Even if the bandits had tried something, in the end they were the ones who would get hurt. He didn't know why, but he simply felt that way.

The boy sighed and after taking off the towel, he walked out of the tent and squinted his eyes after seeing the rays of sun for the first time in a few days. He simply smiled and walked around the camp. He saw many tents and men. Some were bandaged, some were fine, they were talking and laughing despite the battle that took place just a few hours ago. The boy with his crystal-like eyes could see them clearly. A story of how these men came together, fought many battles and endured hardships. This story played out before his eyes like a grand symphony, having its ups and downs, happy and sad moments, and at the end the boy let a small smile surface on his face.

The sun was shinning, it showered the land in its never-ending rays, the birds sang songs, both beautiful and melodious. The boy was calm. He wasn't worried about his future for a single second. He simply stared at the rustling tree leaves as the wind passed by and he could see a play unfold before his eyes. He didn't know how, but he knew he wouldn't come back to a place called "home" for a very long time. He could see him standing before villagers, but they would look at him with confused gazes, he could see him travelling the land, but no word of a missing person that matched his description. He didn't know why, but this play unfolded before his eyes, but despite this rather horrifying thought he was calm. Like before, his eyes were shinning and stood there with a calm smile on his face. No matter how one looked at the boy, he seemed well above his age, but the boy didn't care, he simply watched the wind dance and listened to the songs of the birds.

After the battle, the boy and group had travelled for quite a while. They visited several villages the bandits had raided, but just like the boy predicted, he didn't belong to any of them. They went to many villages, but there were no reports of missing people that matched him. It seemed sad, but for some reason the boy didn't seem too worried about it. After travelling for a few weeks together, Arata decided to give the boy a temporary name. After some thought they decide to name him Akira.

While travelling together Akira heard many stories and Arata taught him about this world. About ninjas, samurais and the geography of the land. Anything he could remember. To his surprise, though, the boy was a quick learner. No, quick was an understatement. Arata quickly came to a conclusion. That child was almost like a monster. His speed of learning was nothing like he had ever seen or heard of before, not even those geniuses from his childhood village could come close. But despite that, Akira didn't change. He would ask questions and look at things with a small smile on his lips.

Few weeks later,

Arata stood before the captain in his tent again. The captain looked to be in thought for a while, but a few second later, he turned to Arata, "We have a new job. We will have to clear another outpost."

Arata was confused as to why the captain was telling him this. Sure, he was the second strongest, but he would always simply follow the captain. But after a thought he froze. They would have to go into battle, but what should they do about Akira?

The captain noticed Arata's reaction and nodded, "Yeah, you've guessed it. We will go into battle, but what do we do about Akira? After all, while we are gone, the base will be defenceless and if any bandits get lucky and slip through and then find Akira... We will be having a few sleepless nights I'm afraid."

Arata frowned slightly, "Then what do we do?"

The captain nodded, "I have been thinking for a while, you know. Arata, why don't you take that kid and go on a journey? Help him find his home. Get a wife, have some kids and take up an official post in a city."

Arata's eyes widened, "You're... Kicking me out?"

The captain shook his head, "Nothing like that. In fact, for a while I have been thinking of letting you take up my post and lead these mercenaries. But lately... I see they way you act. You have your revenge now, Arata. There is no point in you swinging your blade. I can see it. You are growing tired, and you aren't finding any meaning or motivation in this job anymore. Its unfortunate, really, but you still have time. You are only 25 this year. You can go out, find a wife, get a bunch of monkeys running around in your house, take up an official post and lead a calm life, away from this field of battle. And in the process you can help the kid return to his own home. You are the second strongest in our group, but I would rather let you go and know you are leading a calm life, than watch you die on the battlefield."

Arata stood in a daze, "But..." He wanted to say something, but he couldn't. He couldn't leave. He had his revenge. But the captain had done far too much for him. When his anger had no direction, the captain took Arata in and taught him how to wield a sword, he helped him track the bastards who destroyed his village and helped him get his revenge. Arata couldn't simply say 'Okay' and leave.

The captain smiled. After watching the kid grow up into a man, he grew fond of Arata. But he didn't tell any lies. He could see that after Arata gained his revenge, he burned out. He was running in a sprint at first, but now he was slowing down. And that would be the cause of his death on the battlefield. Precisely because the captain watched him grow up, he didn't want that sort of end for Arata.

"Arata, you have gained your revenge. You have been with this group for a long time, you saved us many times and repaid your debt. Not that you had one in the first place, but this part of your life is now over. You have to know when to move on. You have to find a new purpose in life, find a meaning in living. And obviously, you won't find one here. So you should go out and travel. Believe me, I know its difficult, but life is divided into many parts, many chapters... And the chapter of your revenge has been brought to an end. Its time to put a dot, flip a new page and think of a new name for your chapter."The captain spoke as he looked at Arata.

"Go and think about it. If you really want to stay, I will have you with open arms, but I won't take back what I said." The captain said as he sat down and went back to his paper work.

Arata was still in a daze, but he turned around and walked out of the tent..., "Leave?".

Arata was in this group for many years. These people helped him get revenge, they were his comrades and friends... But what the captain said was true. He couldn't see any meaning in living. His family was dead, his revenge fulfiled. What should he do now? Arata realized his situation clearly. He wasn't living, he was simply existing. Dragging his feet after the captain and the group, slaying bandits over and over again. The food he ate was bland and it was hard to get out of bed. His sword was turning red and he felt like he was surrounded by a fog and all he could hear were pained screams. And yet, he couldn't leave. Because he had nowhere to go. All he had was the blade on his waist.

Arata simply dragged his feet in a daze. He didn't know where he was walking, he didn't care. He simply walked. He hoped his body would bring him to his answer. After a while his feet arrived in their destination. A river. Arata smiled wryly, "No purpose in life so I should just kill myself? Is that my wish?" Arata pondered as he looked at the flowing waters of the river.

"Arata, what's wrong?" He heard a small voice.

Arata watched the river and saw the sun rise behind him. No... Wrong. He turned around and saw a boy stand beside him. Red flowing hair, like the first rays of the sun, shinning blue eyes, staring at him. Arata smiled tiredly, "Akira... It's nothing."

Akira smiled, "The river water looks very enticing, doesn't it?"

Akira's eyes widened. He turned to the boy, but Akira was simply looking at the waters. After a second he composed himself, "Yeah, it does..." He answered. He continued looking at Akira and for a moment, but he couldn't find anything to say.

For a few moments there was silence, until Arata opened his mouth, "Akira... Do you want to return to your home?" He asked carefully.

Akira looked at Arata and smiled, "No." Was the simple answer that had no hesitation in it. Arata's eyes widened.

"Why?" he asked.

Akira looked to the sky and seemed to be enjoying the feeling of the wind, "Why should I want to go back? I don't know my parents, I don't know my siblings, I don't know my village. What if it is actually a bad place? What if they abandoned me? Don't misunderstand me, but how could I call a place I don't know about my home? How can I call people I don't know my family?"

Arata opened his mouth, because he was surprised by the answer, but after a moment, he slightly frowned. His family was stolen from him, so that was what he longed for, yet this child had one and didn't even bother thinking about them? Of course Akira's words made sense, but he still stood there with a slight frown.

"Those are all just 'ifs'. How can you know without giving it a chance?" Arata asked.

Akira smiled mysteriously, "The 'ifs' are the important questions. Either way, I don't remember anything, so why worry? I should just do what I can right now and live my present life. If my memories return, I will then see how it goes."

Arata sighed, "Live your present life? Then do you have a goal? I mean... You have no memories, so aren't you afraid" What Arata said made sense. After all, being thrust into a big world, filled with dangers and no memories would make many men halt their steps.

Akira let out a small laugh, "Afraid? Of what? Just because I have no memories should I just lie down and cry? Well, I won't. I will simply change my situation. If I don't know the world, I will travel around it, until I finaly find my place."

Arata put on a contemplative look, "Then can that be considered your goal? To travel the world and to find your place."

Akira continued his smile, "Why not? Who said that goals have to be as high as the mountains? If my goal is to live a simple and happy life, then isn't that enough? "

Arata looked at the river, "Then is that your goal?"

Akira shook his head, "Nope. As of yet, I have no goal in mind. I simply want to see the world."

Arata tightened his fist, "Then, if you were to have that opportunity..."

Akira glanced at Arata, but said nothing about his tense posture, "Then that would be great, I suppose. The question is, will someone grant me that opportunity?" Akira turned around and said the final words in a mysterious way. Arata couldn't help but wonder if he was seen through, or perhaps Akira heard their conversation.

No... What was the point of thinking about it. Like Akira said, he can't get that opportunity, only someone can give it to him.

"Goals don't have to be as high as the mountains... Living a life you are satisfied with, isn't that enough?" Arata repeated those words. He was surprised, for a kid Akira could say some deep words. It as like they were told in special consideration to him.

"Then if I simply travel the world and live my life, isn't that good enough?" Arata thought inside his head. If he were to lie down and die, then wouldn't that make the captain's effort wasted? For a long time he had been feeling empty after getting his revenge. He saw no meaning in living. And now he saw a straw of hope. Living a life you are satisfied with. Traveling the world to find your place in it. Aren't these two goals enough? Just these tiny, small goals, but they were his straws of hope. If these two goals can give him a reason to wake up in the morning and eat his bland food. Then until he finds an answer out there, in the world, then isn't that enough?

Arata let out a tired smile, "Yeah, the river looks enticing... But not today."

Arata turned around and walked away.

Chapter End

 **Chapter end. Yay! I know the start is slow, but things will start picking up. This was nothing but a small build up. I promise. From next chapter onwards the story will start kicking off. New adventures, friends and enemies. Up and downs, twists and turns. You can look forward to all sorts of crazy stuff. Anyway, drop a review to let me know of your opinions. Always looking forward to it. Flames are always welcome, too. I use them to warm me up at night. So... I suppose this is goodbye. Hehe. Umm, bye, have a good day.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer - I own nothing. All rights belong to their owners.

Chapter 3: A journey

What is life but one grand adventure? Arata heard this saying many times, but he believed that his adventure had come to an end, only his life hadn't. Though to his surprise a new chapter in his adventure was about to start. This morning Arata felt satisfied with himself. Reason is because he got out of bed. Why is that so surprising? That is because for the first time in a long while, he got out of bed with a purpose. Today, he isn't dragging his feet, but walking steadily forward. To live a life you are satisfied with and to find your place in this world. That was a small goal, but it was his goal, and to finally have one after a long period of emptiness felt refreshing. It reflected in his posture as it seemed that the weight on his shoulders lessened.

Today, Akira and Arata had bid farewell to the group and went out on their journey. To see the world, to find Akira's home, to find Arata's place in this wide world. Many things to do, many things to see, but neither of them were in a rush. They were simply walking on a long and simple road, enjoying the scenery. The weather wasn't as clear today, but it was still beautiful nonetheless. The sun was shinning, a few clouds in the sky and a refreshing breeze coming and going in an endless circle.

As they were walking, Arata glanced to his side, at the boy with the red hair. Even after spending well over a month together, he couldn't make anything out of this kid. At times he was filled with curiosity like any other kid, but once he opened his mouth it was as if he could see through everything and his words carried wisdom. His talent for learning was monstrous and combined with his looks it should be obvious that his parents weren't simple folk. They either had to be equally talented or good looking. And yet, why wasn't there even a whisper in the wind? Did they really sell him off? Were they dead? Or was Akira simply too far from home, so no news got to this part? There were many questions, but Arata decided to not think about it too much. Like Akira said, all the answers would reveal themselves.

"So, what is our destination?" Akira asked curiously.

Arata shrugged, "You said you wanted to see the world, so here we are, seeing the world. Is there anything you want to do?"

Akira pondered seriously, but eventually let out a smile, "Nothing in particular. I just want to travel around and see many things."

Arata slightly smirked, "Then lets travel around and see many things. According to the map, there should be a village not far from here. It should take us a few days, but once there, we can get some side jobs for money and to think where to head next."

Arata smiled, "Then the village it is, I suppose."

Arata glanced at Akira and muttered quietly, "You really are like an old man."

Arata raised one eyebrow, "Pardon, did you say something?"

Arata shook his head, "Nothing, lets go."

With nothing but two bags on their backs and a katana on Arata's back, the two set off. They weren't searching anything out, they didn't have a destination, all they had was a long and winding path in front of them that would lead them to places never seen before.

The pair were walking for several days, during the nights they would stop and set up camp in the forest. Arata had no trouble hunting for food and it was still summer so the nights weren't too cold. During their journey Arata would tell Akira of the places he had been to, of the various people he had met, he had added in stories he heard from his comrades that he thought were actually interesting, so the journey wasn't boring or anything.

Some time later the two were walking on the road. For several days now, they had only seen some people passing by and they were now relatively close to the village. It was a rather remote village in the Land of Earth. It didn't have anything that stood out about it, so it wasn't well-known and it was rather small, but the people still lived there. The two weren't far of, yet to their surprise they heard someone call out to them before they arrived at the village.

The pair turned around and to their surprise 2 people jumped out of the surrounding bushes, succesfully surrounding the two with 3 people. Arata cursed quietly and grabbed the katana's hilt. Over the few days his life changed, so he grew relaxed and was filled with anticipation for his future, so he actually neglected these kind of things.

"Drop your sword, tough guy, nobody has to get hurt. Do the math, its 3 versus 2, and your companion is a kid. You really think you can take us all on and protect the kid? Just quietly come with us and not a single scratch will appear on your body." One of the bandits spoke. Obviously, he was used to sweet-talking, so instead of intimidating, he tried to reason with Arata. After all, no one here was a ninja and can Arata really quickly take care of them and protect Akira?

It was a simple tactic meant to shake ones confidence. Display the difference in strength with reason, force him into a conclusion and give him assurance that no harm will come to it. Many men would easily fall for such words, thinking that the bandits had the upper hand, so if they wanted to harm him, they would have striked at him with that ambush, so instead of fighting and getting beat up, its best to surrender and then try to find a way to escape. Yet Arata was no simple man.

"Akira stand behind me." With a quick move he unsheated his katana and dropped his bag to the floor. Akira stood next Arata. He was calm, like always. He himself didn't understand, but seeing these bandits, he only felt pity. In his eyes they were like children waving around toys. A peculiar feeling, but Akira didn't put too much thought into it.

The leading bandit cursed Arata's stupidity and all the bandits prepared to attack. A moment later the bandit, closest to Akira attacked, seemingly wanting to force Arata into a defensive battle where they had the advantage, yet Arata had been in this situation far too many times. His eyes sharpened like a hawk and he move to intercept the bandit, blocked his strike and quickly kicked his forward knee. A simple battle tactic against bandits, who would often focus on swinging swords and would forget to move their legs.

The bandit was caught by surprise and his posture was ruined, with a quick move Arata pushed away his sword and then beheaded him. The two bandits were left in shock, after all, the bandit and Arata only did one exchange and Arata quickly dispatched him.

The main bandit gritted his teeth and together with his other comrade charged forward. Same tactic as before. Simple and easy to read, yet difficult to defend against. The two men charged at Akira, yet Arata didn't give any ground, he blocked one strike, gently pushed away Akira, then swung his katana at the second thug, forcing him to step away. Another similar exchange began with both bandits circling around and trying to get to Akira, with Arata succesfully defending.

Enraged, one of the bandits roared and instead of Akira, he charged at Arata. He was slightly surprised, but his eyes focused and he blocked the attack, pushed him away and turned to the second bandit. However, he was really surprised when he saw the second bandit take out an iron knife and with surprising speed and accuracy threw it at Arata. He didn't even have to think, he knew from experience that it was coated in poison, yet he couldn't do anything as the dagger hit him.

Today, Arata was genuinely surprised by these 3 bandits. Overall they weren't powerfull or anything, but they obviously put a lot of thought into their actions. Trying to trick and sweet talk people into letting their guard down, using tacticts to push him into a defensive battle, despite this being an open road, they were taking their time. It was obvious that their leader was actually putting some thoughts into this and training his men. He couldn't help but think that this is dangerous, but Arata put all these thoughts aside, endured the knife, turned around and blocked a strike. Easy to see. One guys throws a knife to distract him and the other guy ambushes from behind. These guys were really no simple bandits.

As Arata and the bandit engaged in a power struggle, the main bandit charged at Akira, intent on taking him hostage. Arata was enduring the pain and he obviously lost his strength advantage over the bandit, so he couldn't quickly push him away and move to block the second one in time. His eyes widened as he thought of the many things he still wanted to do. Of the sights he wanted to see with Akira. Yet, before their journey began, will it end?

Crack.

Everyone shuddered at this loud noise. As people who fought a lot they knew what that noise was. It was the noise that never signified anything good, because it was the noise of bones breaking. Everyone thought that once the main bandit approached the slightly small and petite child, he could take him hostage and force Arata to surrender... How mistaken he was. No one managed to react, and all they saw was the result.

The main bandit was on the ground, his face in the dirt. Akira stood at his side, relaxed, one hand holding the bandits arm that was clearly broken. Arata stared with wide eyes, but he decided to talk later, so he used the small pause to kick the bandit's knee, forcing him to kneel and with a large and powerful slash, he beheaded the man.

After killing the man, Arata ignored the cries of the main bandit and quickly killed him. He didn't have the time to interrogate, he was poisoned, so he had to get to a safe area and treat his wound. Both Arata and Akira were then surprised when they heard a rustling sound. Arata gritted his teeth and prepared his sword, when, to his surprise, only a single man walked out. The young man looked to be around 17, had slightly longer brown hair and eyes that looked like they were closed. On his body he wore simple clothes that didn't make him stand out in any way.

After walking out of the bush, he simply looked confused at the scene. After a few second realization came to him and he smiled, "Please be at ease, my name is Mikado. I am an apprentice to the doctor in our village. You took out these bandits and I see you are injured. Come, I will take you to my teacher. He is the only doctor in our village but he is actually a retired ninja, so he will definitely be able to treat your injuries."

Mikado quickly narrated with a harmless smile. Its like the young man didn't even see the three corpses, and yet these bandits were robbing people so close to the village. Something was going on here, at least thats the conclusion Arata and Akira came to. Hearing Mikado's proposal Arata didn't waste too much time, because he could feel the poison spreading, so he put away his sword and nodded, "Hello, my name is Arata and this is my companion, Akira. We are travelers, but unfortunately we got ambushed by these bandits..." Arata said with a small sigh.

Mikado nodded, "Well, no surprise there. Anyway, lets not waste time. I see you are injured so my teacher should check it out, so it won't turn serious. Follow me, I will lead you to the village."

Both Akira and Arata picked up their bags and followed the young man. Despite the pain, Arata still looked at Akira with a clear questioning gaze. After all, its not often that you see a 14 year old throwing an adult to the ground and breaking his hand like its nothing. It seems that his suspicions are coming true and Akira definitely didn't come from a simple family. The move Akira used was rather advanced and despite his loss of memories he executed it by pure reflex. It obviously shows that before his memory loss, Akira was trained by someone. And someone who could train a kid to such a degree and impart such high level taijutsu, was definitely no ordinary persona.

And yet, all that left is more questions. Questions that even Akira didn't know the answer to. He remembers the fight. He remembers how the bandit extended his hand, yet his body moved on its own. Like he had practiced this move thousands of times. Grab the arm, step to the side, while leading the man away from you and then twist his arm so he falls to the ground. He executed it so smoothly that he didn't even realize what was going, even though he was the one doing it. It was a simple and clear message. This movement was ingrained into his bones and Naruto now understood where that feeling of arrogance came from. He understood why he didn't put the bandits in his eyes. Thats because he knew how to fight. He merely forgot. And if he remembered, then no bandit could stand in his way. No one.

Some time later, inside the village.

An old man with a wrinkled face and white hair tied into a bun on his head stood in front of Arata. The man had a stern air around him as he did several hand seals and after a green haze formed around his hand, he brought it closer to Arata's wound. To his surprise, he could actually feel the wound healing, "Is this... Is this the mystical arts of ninja?" He asked, surprised.

Despite his stern air, the old doctor smirked, "There is nothing mystical about this, youngling. This is simply a medical art we ninjas use. The jutsu I just used is mainly for quick first aid, but I removed the poison already and the wound isn't deep so its best that it heals naturally."

The man finished talking and removed the hand and examined the wound. After checking Arata's condition again to make sure there is no problems he nodded, bandaged the small wound and stepped back, "There you go. How does it feel?"

Arata stood up from his chair and moved his arm to all sides and with a final confirmation he nodded, satisfied, "Perfect."

The old man nodded again, "Glad to hear. Rest a few days and the wound will naturally heal."

Arata nodded as he thanked the old doctor and was taking out the money to pay him, but to his surprise the man held up his hand, showing that he wouldn't accept it. Arata stood there confused, "Sir, this is your compensation..." He said calmly.

The old man nodded, "I see that, but I won't take it. You guys have cleared out 3 bandits on the outskirts. They have been causing some trouble lately, so after you did such a favour to our village how could I sleep at night after also taking your money from you? What, do you believe that this old man is so greedy?" He asked as his gaze turned hostile and a small, yet sharp killing intent surfaced around him.

Arata took a step back in surprise, "No, sir."

The man then chuckled as he turned away, "Mikado, clean everything up."

Mikado nodded and quickly got to cleaning out the workspace. Arata glanced at Akira who was standing behind him, but saw that he only stood there with a small smile on his face. Like always..., "Damn this guy is seriously an old man." Arata couldn't help but remark in his head.

After a while Mikado brought out some tea for everyone and they sat at the table, "Anyway... Sir, what is going on in this village? How come the bandits are operating so close to the village?" Arata asked.

The man took a sip of his tea and then turned a glare to Arata, "Takeshi."

Arata was surprised again, "Pardon?"

The man's glare intensified, "That's my name - Takeshi. So stop with the sir nonsense."

Arata was stumped and after a while composed himself again, "Yes... Takeshi." Arata then heard a small snicker next to him. He turned and saw Akira sitting next to him, obviously keeping quiet so that all of the old doctor's displeasure would be focused on Arata. Few second later Arata cursed in his head, "This brat actually has a michevious side to him." he thought inside his head.

However, he turned back to Takeshi and continued, "My question still stands, Takeshi. What is going on?"

Takeshi took another sip and glanced at Arata, "Some time ago a group of bandits came to the village and established their base near the mountain. They were surprisingly used to the enviroment and they had some sort of training, as they were not easy to find. For some time they have been setting up ambushes on the road, taking out merchants and the like."

Arata frowned, "You are obviously a strong ninja, are you telling me you couldn't deal with them?" He asked. He didn't mean any discrespect. Takeshi also knew that. After all, it was rare for ninjas to become as old as him. Many die on the field and considering his age, this old ninja participated in at least one Great Ninja War. In other words, a man who survived the war and could live to this old age, was obviously not a simple ninja.

Takeshi nodded, "I could, but there would be consequences. Ninja or not, I am nothing but an old retired man. I don't have the confidence in emerging from the battle alive and if I fail, the ones to suffer will be the villagers. That is not something I can selfishly decide. Besides, the bandits don't raid the village itself, they only stay on the outskirts so there is no pressing need to do it."

Arata's frown deepened. These bandits were definitely an annoying group, "Then... Why has no one come to deal with them? You said they were here for some time, you guys should have put out a request by now. Or a passing group of ninjas should have seen what is going on."

Takeshi nodded again, "You think of many things, yet stupid you are, youngling." Arata's brows shot all the way up to his hairline. He knew he was no genius, but he considered himself experienced and fairly smart, at least above average.

The old man chuckled, "This is a far away village. There is nothing here, so ninja rarely pass by here, simply because most bandit groups decide that working in this place would bring them far less profit than in other ones. However, these guys are different. They are obviously satisfied by raking in smaller profits, but playing it safer. We have already sent out a request, but unfortunately no one has come as of yet."

Mikado also sighed from the side, "Many people and merchants suffered here, but they were only small-fry so the Tsuchikage doesn't turn his gaze to our village. He probably thinks that this is only a small group of vermin that will clear out on their own soon, so we can only suffer in silence."

After a moment of silence the person who has kept quiet all this while spoke up, surprising everyone, "How strong are they?" Akira asked in a clam voice.

Takeshi looked up from his cup and was about to make fun of the kid, but stopped when he saw his gaze. His gaze calm and serene, two shinning orb were in his eyes sockets and they were both directed at him. There was no arrogance or obvious signs of rash behaviour. After looking at the kid he contemplated for a second and looked at Akira, "Nothing abnormal, but these guys obviously know how to use the melons on their shoulders. There aren't a lot of them, but the problem is that they are very slippery and like to use a lot of tactics. Why? You planning on taking them out?"

Arata also directed a disapproving look at Akira at this point, but Akira simply ignored it and shrugged, "We already killed three of their members, do you really think we will be able to leave this place safely?"

Arata and Takeshi were surprised at this moment as they didn't really consider that small point, but Akira continued, "Those guys are very careful, the fact that they operate around the village and choose their targets carefully should mean that they have some connections in here. My guess is that they will have that contact scout us out and then report to the boss. And then they will wait until we leave the village. Once outside, they will kill us, thus getting their revenge and at the same time, because they didn't cause a ruckus in the village, they can continue working here."

Everyone around the table were quiet. Eventually Takeshi let out a small chuckle, "A reasonable deduction. Good. Very good. You look like a kid with some potential."

Arata unconciously nodded his head. Arata had always been conscious of his strength and he knew just how strong he was, yet he knew that his weakness was in strategy. For a few years he had only dragged his feet after the captain. He didn't bother participating in the planning, he would simply wait for the order and execute it. After a few years some of the captain's strategies rubbed off on him and he knew how to make them, but he knew he was only average. And yet, with the simple sentence he understood who the brain of the two were. Its a simple deduction, he would also come to the same conclusion and yet it would definitely take more time for him.

Takeshi sighed and finished his tea and then stood up, "Well, anyway, its getting late. You two just arrived in the village and didn't have the time to find an inn, so you can stay here for the night. We can talk more in the morning, I am already old so I am having trouble keeping my eyes open. Mikado, show them to their rooms."

Mikado only smiled and moved to clean out the cups, "Just like the master said, you are free to stay the night."

Arata nodded his head and thanked them. After cleaning up Mikado led them upstairs to an empty room. Finally, the day was coming to an end and they could rest. God knows they will need it for tomorrow.

Chapter end.

* * *

 **Tada! Well, don't worry this is only the beginning. Twists and turns and spins and barfing all await you in this story and this was only the introduction. Anyway, chapter finished, time to sleep. Drop a review and let me know what you think. Once I wake up, I will have something to look forward to and if you want to, you can drop a flame, it will warm me up at night. Toodles!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer - I own nothing.

Chapter 4: A hero in times of need

Next morning

Akira opened his eyes to the first rays of sunshine and slowly sat up in his bed with a yawn. It was still early, but he always got up at this time. It was like an alarm clock inside him would start and without exception he would always wake up at this time. He didn't mind though, he was used to it. After rubbing his eyes Akira planted his feet on the ground and walked towards a chair, where his clothes were neatly folded. Today, he had some business to take care of.

After washing up and putting on his clothes Naruto went downstairs and noticed that he was the only one awake. After looking around for a while, he went to the backyard and stood in an open area, his eyes closed. Ever since the bandit's attack yesterday, he was constantly reliving that moment. He couldn't help but wonder, just how strong was he? Today he wanted to see if he could remember something, but before getting in a stance, he started a small warm up.

The warm up was quickly finished and he stood up. After a few seconds he breathed out and got into a stance. It wasn't special or anything, he just took a stance he saw Arata take many times. Then after a second his eyes focused sharply and he punched the air. As the fist was travelling Akira felt a strange sensation. It was as if there were strings attached to him. As he punched out with the fist, the strings started controlling his body and his stance slowly shifted and the first punch was quickly followed up by a second fist, then a third and finally with a kick.

Akira was slightly surprised by how smoothly it went. Yesterday he just took a guess that if his body was trained to the degree where some actions were being done by reflex, then if he were to do some training, wouldn't he be able to awaken some of his memories? Yet although he went through a set of moves smoothly, nothing came back to him.

"Heeh, not bad. Who taught you that?" Akira turned around and he saw Takeshi standing there.

Akira was slightly surprised, but quickly calmed down, "Takeshi, good morning. How long have you been there?" He asked.

Takeshi smirked, "For a while. I guess old habits die hard, even after all this time I can't get out of my ninja habits and I always wake up early. You didn't answer my question, who trained you?"

"He doesn't know." A third voice came this time.

Takeshi and Akira turned and saw Arata coming towards them, "Akira has amnesia. I found him a month ago in the forest, as I was travelling, yet after all this time his memories still didn't come back."

Takeshi nodded, "Amnesia, is it? Hmm that would explain why although his moves are flowing smoothly, they are still awkward."

Arata walked up to Takeshi and looked at him, "Takeshi, is there any way for him to get back his memories faster? Perhaps you know some sort of art... Or jutsu, was it?"

Takeshi smirked, but shook his head, "If his memories weren't sealed, but he lost them naturally then there isn't much I can do. Only certain specialised ninja study jutsu that is related to the mind and I am not one of them."

Arata and Akira seemed to lose their spirits a little, but Takeshi still hasn't finished, "But there are some ways to help him." Both guys looked up at Takeshi with some expectation, "It is to do things he had done in the past. If he repeats actions he had done in the past, it should stimulate his brain a little, perhaps help him recover his memories faster. And in your case, I suppose that before you lost your memories you trained a lot, so just keep on going, perhaps it will help you."

Arata and Akira looked at each other and nodded, then they thanked Takeshi, who just stood there with a smirk, "Don't worry about it, I haven't done anything."

Takeshi then turned around and left. Arata and Akira didn't have much to do at the time so they started training. Arata started guiding Arata through some excersises in hopes it would help out, but they were both left disappointed in the end. Eventually, lunchtime came and the four people went inside to have some lunch.

"So, what are you guys planning to do now?" Mikado asked as he observed the two.

Arata shrugged, "Don't know yet. The bandits will be watching us for now, so I was thinking of waiting in this village for a while."

Takeshi nodded, "Bandits really know how to hold a grudge, so its a good move."

Mikado also nodded, "Yeah, those guys are crafty and careful, yet more vicious than your average bandits."

For a while the four people just ate in silence. No one knew what to do, after all, there were quite a few bandits so it would be risky to take any actions, so they sat at the table, each lost in his own thoughts. After a while Takeshi spoke up again, "Hmm, how about you guys stay here for a while?" he proposed with a calm voice.

Mikado's eyes started shinning, "Great idea, master. With all four of us here, the bandits would surely be more careful. Perhaps we can even figure out a way to beat them." It was a logical solution for the time being. After all, Takeshi can't take on the base alone, because he is already old and has been out of actions for a quite a few years, but if all four of them were to be together, then even the bandits would have to be careful. Old or not, Takeshi could still take out quite a few bandits. Mikado was his apprentice, so Takeshi should have passed down a few combat techniques to him and both of them knew that Arata was good with a sword. Despite protecting Akira, he held his own against three bandits and even took two of them down. And then there was the enigma known as Akira. He had no memories, his strength unkown even to him, yet there was obviously quite a few powerful moves locked inside of him. If his past strict training is anything to go by.

Arata nodded his head, "Then we will take you up on your offer. Perhaps... Takeshi can even help Akira regain some of his memories. Even if slightly."

Takeshi glanced up and looked at Akira, "Well, I've said this previously, I have no techniques to help him directly, but perhaps I can think of some ways to stimulate his memories."

Akira smiled slightly, "Then I will be in your care for a while."

Takeshi let out a small laugh, "Yes, yes."

After breakfast was finished everyone was left to do their own thing for the day. Takeshi and Mikado were the doctors of the town so some people would come to be treated from time to time, meanwhile Arata decided to look around the town a little, while Akira noticed some of Takeshi's books and decided to read through them. They were simple books about history, literature, science, but Akira didn't mind. He was lacking that knowledge, so like a hungry beast he jumped on the books and started reading through them.

After some time Akira and Arata went to Takeshi when he called them and noticed he was standing there with slightly furrowed brows. Confused, Arata asked what was the problem. After a while Takeshi sighed, "Well, there is a patient who came by to get some treatment. I was planning to make some medicine for him, but I found out that I ran out of stock of a particular herb. Though I could have sworn there was still some left yesterday. Well, perhaps I may be remembering things wrong due to my old age." He narrated with a sigh.

Arata frowned, "What kind of herb do you need? I don't know much about herbology, but if you describe it to me, I can head out and gather some."

Takeshi nodded his head, "That's what I was hoping to request of you. Normally, Mikado is the one who heads out to gather herbs, but I don't really want to send him alone. If all three of you go together, you can safely gather the herbs, meanwhile I will stay back and treat the patient with what I have."

Arata nodded, "You are already helping us out by letting us stay here, so we can do at least this much, but Mikado and I will be more than enough to gather those herbs."

Akira shook his head, "No, I want to come along."

Arata frowned, "It's dangerous. If we encounter any bandits y-"

But Akira interrupted, "I will take care of them. I'm not trying to be cocky, but I was just thinking that rather than training, perhaps some battle will help me remember more. If not, then I can just act as a lookout while you guys gather the herbs."

Arata wanted to refuse, but he realized that he didn't have the confidence to say anything. Akira took down one bandit easily by pure reflex and this morning he went smoothly through a set of moves, without any memory. It obviously shows that in the past, the training Akira received was very harsh and it was engrained in his very bones, so he didn't need as much protection as he thought.

Mikado then spoke up from the side, "You two don't have to worry so much. The place we will be going to is pretty close to the village and on the opposite side from the bandit camp. There shouldn't be much of a danger there, even if we do find any, there should be one or two bandits at most."

Eventually Arata sighed and decided to let Akira come. He can act as a lookout and if any bandit shows up, he will simply have Akira step back. Either way, the bandits will underestimate Akira and it will be their own fall, "Fine, I suppose. Lets go."

The group quickly gathered their stuff and headed out. It was already late into the day, so they had to hurry, but, like Mikado said, the place wasn't far from the village so they quickly made it there. After they arrived, Mikado quickly explained how the herb looked like, how to gather and store it.

"I have come here many times and there should be no bandits here, only one or two at best, so this is somwhat of a safer area. I believe that you guys should have no trouble handling a single bandit or two, so I propose we slightly spread out to cover more ground." Mikado said.

After thinking it over Arata agreed. He didn't rely on Mikado's words alone. On the way he noticed that this is a rather deserted area where few people come and it was rather far from the bandit camp, so they should have no business coming here and if they do spot one or two, he can take care of them. So they agreed to spread out, but still stay withing each others hearing range, so they can quickly rush to aid if they do spot any bandits and the group started gathering the herbs.

Hours went by and the sun was starting to set, yet the group didn't enounter any bandits so they relaxed a little. Akira could see Mikado gather herbs in the distance and he then looked at Arata next to him doing the same. In this group his role was to be a look out, but as it was getting dark and they didn't see even a trace of the bandits, he slightly relaxed and along the way Arata decided to teach Akira how to gather herbs. The two were alert, but Arata knew that the chances of bandits come so far out in the dark, where there are no people, were next to none, so he focused more of his attention on the herbs.

It was getting dark and eventually Mikado came to their group with a smile on his face, "Looks like our luck was good today, we encountered no bandits. I think we have enough herbs for the time being and it will be difficult to find any in the dark, so we should head back."

Arata nodded his head, "Alright, lead the way." He said as he stood up and cleaned his hands of the dirt and passed the herbs to Mikado.

The group was then setting back towards the village, walking across the forest and they eventually entered a more dense part of it, when to their surprise with a vicious roar a bunch of shadows leapt out of the bushes and started moving to surround the group.

Arata's eyes widened, "No bandits? One or two at most? This doesn't look like one or two, what's going on Mikado?"

Mikado's face turned sour, "I don't know. Perhaps its like Akira deduced yesterday, maybe the bandits have a contact in the village and he informed the bandits once we left the village. Perhaps their leader thought that we are gathering strength to oppose them, so they decided to ambush us once we seperated. If they take us out, then they can move on to my teacher and then they will be unrivaled in the area."

Arata quickly came to the same conclusion and cursed inside his head. There was definitely not one or two bandits here and they are surrounded right now. This was definitely a very dangerous situation from which they won't come out unscathed and they will be lucky if no one dies.

"Bastards, you think you can just kill our comrades and think we will leave you alone? Today you will pay! Blood for blood!" One of the bandits roared and charged the group.

Arata gritted his teeth and moved to confront the bandit. He knew that it was dangerous to stay your ground. He remembered the old captain drilling it into his head that if you are ever surrounder, it is important to try and leave some breathing room for yourself, otherwise you will be surrounded and killed. That's why Arata decided to charge first, so as to not give them momentum and have some space to retreat.

Mikado had the same idea obviously. His hands start glowing with a blue hue, and some weird aura surfaced and formed a blade around his hands. He then moved to the opposite direction, trying to prevent the bandits from attacking Arata in the back.

"Take who you can prisoners, the leader will want to personally execute these guys. Those who resist, kill them!" The leader of this group roared.

A battle ensued. Arata skillfully started going around the bandits trying to spend the least possible amount of time on each bandit, but this resulted in injuries pilling up on him as a strike or two would get past his guard or strike from the side. Mikado was faring even worse. The man was trained, but he obviously had very little combat experience.

As Akira stood in place in-between the two sides, one of the bandits charged at him, intent on taking him hostage. No one else bothered because they thought one man was enough to subdue a kid. Yet to their surprise Akira evaded the grab, by feeling the pull on his strings, he unleashed a kick right at the bandit's stomach. The kick connected and it was obviously very hard as it made the man roll over on his back and even some vomit surfaced.

Some of the bandits were startled, but after feeling like they were cheated they released enraged roars as more bandits charged Akira. This time there was more than one. Akira didn't know much about combat, but his mind was strangely very calm. His mind started working at a monstrous speed and even though he had no combat experience, his mind quickly deduced the pluses and minuses of each actions, so he quickly followed Arata's example and charged, not waiting to be surrounded.

With a step to the side he dodged one punch and unleashed his own punch to the man's chest, making him take a few steps back and grunt in pain. Then he took another step, doding a swing of a sword, then crouching and doing a sweep, knocking the bandit off his feet. After the sweep Akira lunged at another man, released several quick striked at his body, forcing out a some blood out of his mouth and to fall to the ground.

Throughout the process Akira was growing calmer and calmer, entering some kind of strange trance.

"...What do I do if I am surrounded in combat?..." Words started echoing within his mind.

"...Hmmm, first thing's first, if you are surrounded, then move. Doesn't matter where, just move, because if you stay in one place the enemy will converge and they will drown you in their attacks, so you have to keep moving. Secondly, do quick and clean hits, don't spend more than a second or two on each enemy..." An older voice responded. An image revealed itself. Akira's point of view was much lower than what it was now and he was looking up to a shadow who stood in front of him. Obviously, the shadow was mentoring him and giving him a lecture about group combat.

Akira nodded his head, "Clean strikes, keep moving." As if Akira pressed on the gas pedal, he quickly sped up and his strikes were starting to get faster and more vicious, quickly taking out a bandit and moving on to the next. The bandits started noticing it and more people converged on Akira.

At this point Arata was obviously growing exhausted from receiving injuries, but he didn't stop. As he noticed Akira out of the corner of his eyes, he was surprised, but as he saw more bandits going towards Akira, he frowned and from time to time he would glance at Akira's direction to see his situation. That resulted in more injuries, but he didnd't really care, he was used to the pain. The circle was steadily thinning out and he just had to hold on for a while. Just a few more swings, just a few more steps. He had fought for many years and he believed that he could endure. Yet to his dismay, he heard a yell full of pain behind him.

With a thud, he noticed that Mikado was quickly surrounded and after a while he couldn't keep up with the enemies. Some injuries piled up and he was then thrown to the ground and subdued. Arata's morale slipped slightly as he noticed that the bandits then turned from Mikado to Arata and Akira.

He cursed slightly, but decided to just focus on the bandits and his swings become even more vigorious.

A punch approached from the back and hit Akira on the back, making him grunt in pain, yet he only turned around and with a quick footwork technique he danced around the bandit while throwing a few punches, forcing him to kneel from the pain. Then another slash came from behind, forcing him to dodge, but to his surprise a punch from the side landed on his face, disorienting him. Then another punch came and landed on his body, forcing him further back. The bandits were relentless even against him as they converged and decided to vent some anger. It was an ambush, they had vastly outnumbered the three, yet those three were more stronger than they thought and they lost quite a few men.

Akira looked up through blurry eyes and saw a punch coming his way. A scene appeared inside his head with that punch.

"Wrong! Listen,..., I will say this again... Don't watch just one enemy, because in battle you will have to take note of many things. Your position, your comrades positions, the enemies positions, the state of the battle, if any changes occured that can affect the battle. Don't focus on one enemy and one single punch. Expand your view, look at the forest not just a single tree."

Akira's blurry eyes lit up at that second and he saw the oncoming punch. But that was not the only thing he saw, he saw much more, "If I dodge to the right, that guy with the sword will cut me off and it will be followed by a blow to the back... So, don't dodge." The tactics inside Akira's head changed in a flash. His arms moved up and parried the attack from the bandit before unleashing a heavy punch to his gut, sending him backwards and blocking off a few bandits in the front. Using this second Akira took in a deep breath and continued moving forward. His attacks growing stronger, faster, sharper, his moves more diverse and unpredictable. As if a flood was unleashed, he could feel his battle stance constantly changing by the second, his body remembering the training of the forgotten past.

And yet, a few punches would still slip through and the injuries were piling up and there were still a few enemies. Arata and Akira were slowly moving backwards, being pushed back and eventually their back hit each other's. The two didn't need to look back, by their statures and positions they knew who the other person was, yet now they were in deep trouble. Both of them were very injured and they had no more room to back up to. They were exhausted and injured, meanwhile, the bandits had some injures, but they were still surrounding them.

Arata didn't show any anger or anything. In fact, he wanted to laugh right now. Was he really that cursed? When he was a child his family and village was murdered before his yes. He finally got his revenge, but lost his sense of purpose. He finally regained his sense of purpose and set off to travel the world, yet before their journey started they encountered such situations and he could already see death before his eyes.

"Truly, what a pathetic and meaningless life I've lived." Arata released a bitter chuckle. After a sigh he spoke in a slightly hushed tone, "Akira, I will open a path. You charge forward and escape from here."

Akira was surprised as he heard the words and didn't know how to respond. He didn't want to leave. He knew that if he ran, Arata will die and he wanted to avoid it. The two had already spent over a month together and Akira liked the man. He didn't keep much secrets and he was always looking out for him. Such good men were hard to find.

Arata already sensed Akira's hesitation and smiled slightly. He didn't want to seperate from Akira either, but he knew that if he doesn't do anything, both of them will die, so him doing a suicide attack is the best option, "Akira, listen. Don't think about anything. Once I count to three, you run after me. You don't look back and just keep matter what, keep running until you reach Takeshi."

Arata said and didn't give Akira time to think. If he did, he was afraid that Akira will be influenced by thoughts of friendship and will decide to stay here with him, so he stated his plan and started counting down, not giving Akira a choice. It was cruel, he knew, but he understood that Akira won't leave otherwise.

The countdown began and quickly went up from one to three. Arata's resolve flared and a bright fire lit up in his eyes as he charged forward. He had no more regrets, he made his peace. He didn't find his place in this world, but he achieved his first goal. He decided that this kind of end was one he was satisfied with and realizing this fact he let a small smile form on his face. A small goal, but he achieved it. He died for a purpose. He fought for a puprose and he sacrificed himself for a good goal. So no more hesitation, only the swing of the sword that was filled with boundless might that quickly killed one bandit.

Without stop he quickly started slashing through the bandits with strength never seen before. At this time, his swordswmanship reached a new level. He was resolved to break open a path for Akira, so he swung with great strength, never stopping. Quite a few injuries appeared on his body as he wasn't as focused on dodging, he simply exchanged blow for blow as he cut open a path. The end of the circle was near, with a mighty roar Arata stepped forward, all his resolve and strength poured into this strike on the last bandit, his speed so fast and sharp that the bandit died without even realizing what was happening.

Akira simply bit his lip and dashed forward, following that straigth back. It was weird. Even though Arata was slightly hunched over from the injures, in Akira's eyes that back seemed so big, almost like it could carry a mountain on it. Seeing that back, Akira's own straightened and he charged forward. Yet just as the last bandit fell and they were about to break free, everyone heard a mighty shout.

"What the hell are these bandits doing here? Tch, men, slaughter and recycle this trash!" A shout come from the side, followed by several more battle cries.

A group of men with katanas in hand charged the bandit circle and started slaughtering their way through the surprised bandits. The bandit leader gritted his teeth as veins bulged on his neck, "Retreat! Go back to the the base!" He shouted. He lost far too many men and it wasn't worth losing even more just to slay a single Arata or Akira. At least in his mind.

With a cry the bandits retreated while fighting off the new arrivals. At this time Arata stood with his sword in hand. From head to toe he was covered in blood and his entire body was in pain, yet he didn't care. With a last step, he blacked out and fell to the ground, still praying for Akira's safe escape. Arata meanwhile stood in place, watching the man who just shouted the commands. The man was tall and had a lean build. Brown hair that was held up in a violet headband, a handsome face and serious eyes, he watched as the bandits escaped and then there was only Arata, Akira and Mikado left. One was unconscious and heavily injured, the other two had quite a few injures but looked like they would be able to walk. He nodded his head.

"Nice to meet you fellas, the name's Isamu, leader of the Thunderwolf mercenary group. Fret not, rescue has arrived." He said with a confident smirk.

Chapter end.

 **A small announcement. The releases will probably slow down at the moment. As I stated in the first chapter I am a university student and right now I have assignments pilling up, so I will be focusing some attention towards that. I won't stop, but there will be fewer updates, so I ask that you guys be patient. Pretty please with eyes shinning and shit.**

 **With that out of the way... This chapter is over and done! Yay! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Like always, drop a review (good or bad, I eat with both toppings) and give me your opinions. Don't forget to dress up warmly, its getting cold!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer - I own nothing.

Chapter 5: Chaos descends

...

Akira was sitting on a chair, surrounded by a bunch of people. All these people wore the same type of uniform, symbolising a wolf formed out of lightning. The group was talking and laughing, obviously an easy-going bunch. Takeshi was walking around the place, from person to person, treating their injuries. After the battle at night, the Thundewolf mercenaries helped Arata, Akira and Mikado back to the village and protected them along the way. Due to the battle these people suffered some injuries, but nothing serious as the bandits were retreating, so the returning journey was safe and after they arrived at Takeshi's place, the old veteran got to work, treating their injuries.

Akira looked up from the ground at the young hand that was holding his arm, bandaging it. Although Mikado suffered quite a few injuries, after getting treated by Takeshi, he also joined in, helping the veteran in treating these people.

Watching Mikado Akira smiled lightly, "You know, you are quite brave."

Mikado's arm stopped for a second and a trace of caution appeared in his eyes, which disappeared not a second lated. He smiled lightly, "What do you mean?"

Akira looked over the young man, "You obviously don't have much experience in combat, yet you fought against this many bandits without hesitation."

Hearing this Mikado released an embarrassed laugh, "Yeah, well, in the end I still got knocked down and subdued. Nothing heroic about that."

Akira shook his head, "If you were afraid of danger you wouldn't go out outside the village to get herbs for the villagers. If you were afraid, you wouldn't have fought like that. I think you are admirable, even if you know its dangerous you still resolve yourself to do the right thing."

Mikado smiled, "Its thanks to teacher."

Akira raised one eyebrow, "You being brave has nothing to do with him."

Mikado shook his head, "If it wasn't for him, there would be no me. In the past I lived in a small village. I had a family and everything, but due to lack of food a famine started in our village. My parents decided to lessen the amount of mouths to feed, so they threw the youngest and weakest child, me. It was winter outside, so I tried to do everything I can to survive, yet eventually there is no way a lone child with no help can survive the harsh winter, so after traveling for a while I collapsed from the cold and the hunger..."

It was quite a sad story, but Akira didn't interrupt, he just quietly listened, "...Despite everything, I wasn't sad. In fact, I felt relief that I will be freed from this pain upon death. And yet, I didn't die. That is because teacher found me. He took me in, treated me, gave me food. At first, I was unsatisfied, because I thought I will finally be freed from this torturous life and yet life went on and I realized how mistaken I was. After spending time in this clinic I saw many things, many people, I heard many stories. I saw an old father going countless miles to sell his products just to earn some extra money and feed his family. Yet as he sat here and got his worn-out feet treated, he had a smile on his face, saying its worth it. I heard of street vendors pretending not to notice an orphan stealing an apple from their stall, I heard of an old lady who makes clothes in her spare time and gives them out to the poor. After a while I realized life wasn't that bad, its just that I experienced the bad part first..."

"... But the thing that I still remember to this day are teacher's words, "If life treats you badly don't give up. Get up from the ground, struggle with your all. Are you just satisfied with staying on the ground and being a punching bag? If no, then get up and fight the injustice. Good things won't happen if you just wait for them to happen, so get up and seize your happiness." At that time I decided that teacher was right. It won't do me any good to lie down and die. I don't want to die a dogs death, so I decided to fight the injustice. I decided to pass on the kindness teacher gave to me. I want to become a person, who will one day extend a helping hand and say the same words... Well at least thats my goal." Mikado finished with a small chuckle.

Akira smiled, "Its a fine goal." Mikado nodded his head and continued treating Akira. At that time a man walked inside. It was the leader of the Thunderwolf mercenaries, Isamu. Isamu look at his men and joked around, "What, you guys already resting your feet after chasing away half-dead bandits? Such valiant men, history will remember your deed of how you ran after bandits while screaming at the top of your lungs. True heroes."

The group wasn't large, about 10 men, yet from how they interacted it showed that the group members were very close to each other. At that time one of the men then shot back, "Yes, and everyone will remember our brave commander. Standing at the top of the hill, looking over the battlefield like a god after chasing away a small group of bandits. Truly perfect material for a new legend." Hearing this the men roared in laughter, yet Isamu didn't seem affected as he joined in, "Alright, you dumbasses, rest up, I will treat you to some drinks later on." The men just yelled in confirmation.

He then turned to Akira and smirked, "Yo, kiddo. Still alive and well I see."

Akira nodded his head with a grateful smile, "Yes, all thanks to you. We are grateful to you for saving us."

A shocked expression appeared on Isamu's face, "Whoah, what the hell is with the old man speech?"

Takeshi let out a laugh, "Thats just how he is."

Isamu composed himself and let out a laugh, "Well, you are obviously no ordinary kid if you managed to be the last man standing in that mess."

For a while the men talked and Isamu found out about the village's situation. Looking over the Thunderwolf group it was obvious that they had some battles under their belt, so after thinking it through Akira gave Takeshi a suggestion. With the last battle the number of bandits should have been greatly reduced and although they are injured, if they can spend time to recuperate and if Takeshi, Mikado, Arata, Akira and the Thunderwolves unite, they should be able to chase away the bandits.

Takeshi nodded his head, showing his approval and proposed the idea to the mercenaries, "Isamu, I have a request of your group. Help us clear out the bandits near the village and the villagers will be more than happy to pay you for your troubles. Naturally, I will also join in the battle and so will my apprentice and Akira."

Isamu put on a contemplative look. He saw Takeshi use the medic jutsu, so he quickly identified him as a ninja. Mikado was obviously a ninja's apprentice so he should have some skills and he saw the battle site with his own eyes, so he knew better than to underestimate Akira, who was the last man standing. Plus, after the battle, the bandit's forces have been reduced, so they had a good chance at winning. After thinking it over Isamu put on a grin, "Well..." He turned to his men, "You lot, there are a bunch of bandits in the area that are harming this village and we are being offered a job. The beautiful ladies of this village are suffering and can you idiots stay still knowing this? Not only will we recieve money, there will be a chance that a stupid little lady will fall for you even with your ugly mugs. So what do you think, do we take this job or no?"

The men let out a laugh, "Oh please, I bet I slept with more women than you, captain. If there are any women interested in me, if you ask me nicely I will introduce you a few." The men let out another round of laughter. It was a light banter and it was clear that the group was willing to accept this job. Despite the danger and their injuries the men were light-hearted.

Isamu then turned to Takeshi and Akira with a smirk, "So you heard." Takeshi simply smirked in response and then moved on to the next patient, continuing his treatment.

For the next few days the group focused on recuperating and planning their attack on the bandits. They obviously couldn't go in blindly so the group decided that its best to scout the bandits out first. The men weren't rash and it was eventually Akira who came up with a plan, "The bandits have some contacts in the village so once we move out, the bandits will receive the news shortly. I think its best to wait until we learn some more precise information. The bandits and the contacts in the village should be having frequent meetings in order to keep up to date with our preparations and movements, so if we manage to capture the messenger, we can get precise information about the camp and we can even send out false information and lead them to a trap."

Everyone was shocked when they heard Akira's plan, clearly not expecting such a young kid to be good at strategizing. Takeshi also nodded his head, "When it comes to regular informants, they usually operate in two ways. They either have a secret entrance to the village or they disguise as villagers and enter the village. According to my information there should be no secret entrances in this village, so I think its the latter, they are coming and leaving wearing disguises. You guys should also dress up as villagers and take up positions near the village entrance and in some pubs as those are the main areas where spies tend to share information."

Isamu nodded his head, "And once we identify the informant, we capture him, wring out all the information, set up a trap and annihilate the bandits."

The group continued planning and setting up their net, while also recuperating and training. Akira also told Takeshi of his small experience, hoping that the old veteran would have some idea on how to progress further. After thinking it over Takeshi's response was simple, "I am not positive, but my guess is that you were raised in a military-like home. Whoever that figure was, he was obviously preparing you for battles ahead, so I believe its best that you continue training and battling and it should further stimulate your memories... Perhaps I can even help out." Takeshi said with a crafty glint in his eyes.

In truth, Takeshi had already noticed Akira's monstrous talent. After the story he was sure that Akira had underwent strict training in his home and while here, Akira had read a lot of books, yet it seemed like he absorbed information at a monstrous rate. As a ninja he knew that Akira was definitely a monster, an amazing prodigy. During the wars he had seen enough of these to notice the signs. Thats why Takeshi decided to give Akira some real ninja training and teach him a bit about medicine. It was his legacy, the only things the old veteran had. He knew he wasn't far off from death, so he wanted to leave something behind and if Akira managed to save even a single person by using the medical arts he taught him, then it was worth it. And if Akira managed to make something of himself in the world and save even more people in the process, then even in the afterlife he could stand with his back straight, knowing he had a hand in teaching this figure.

"Relax, clear you thoughts and feel deep inside of you. Around the area near your stomach you should be able to feel an energy, like water surging in circles. I want you to guide that energy trough the big gates in your stomach and let the energy course through you." Takeshi watched as Akira sat in front of him. He decided that Akira already had a strong foundation in taijutsu, so its best to focus on the usage of the energy that all ninja use - chakra.

With a small breath Akira delved deep inside of him and he immediately felt his chakra pool. With a single thought he willed the energy to move and it was like the flood gates were opened and the energy exploded around him. Takeshi's eyes widened watching this, "What the hell is this monstrous amount of chakra? A genius talent, a genius mind, monstrous chakra, strict training. No, this chakra is even slightly tamed in proportion to the amount, so that means this kid already knew how to use chakra in the past! What the hell is he? This kid's parent are definitely no ordinary people, yet why isn't there even a whisper that this kid disappeared?" He couldn't help but think in shock, yet he quickly composed himself and decided to remain on the same course of action. He would teach him how to use chakra properly and how to tame that monstrous amount of chakra.

For the next few days it was a simple routinue where Takeshi taught Akira everything he knew, the Thunderwolf mercenaries were scouting out the village for signs of the informant, meanwhile Arata was still asleep, resting.

The rate of Akira's improvement left Takeshi utterly shaken. Even if it was easier for Akira to do many things because he had been trained before, even the expression 'Improving by leaps and bounds' wasn't fit for this. Whether imparting all his medical knowledge or the taijutsu training to help him get used to chakra-enhanced combat or the very simple jutsu of Substitution, Clone and Transformation, everything was absorbed even faster than a sponge absorbing water.

"A monster... No, a monster among monsters. What do I call this kid?" Takeshi stood in a daze as he saw Akira going through his training. He had no words. He had never seen anything like this and only heard of two people in all of history who could compare to this kid, "Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju..." The two legendary figures, who could flatten entire mountains and even control the mighty tailed beasts, who were dubbed as the walking calamities, "Even the current hokage of the hidden leaf village, Minato Namikaze can't hold a candle next to this monstrous talent." He said quietly.

Akira stopped his training as he put his hand on his knees and wiped the sweat of his brow. He then looked at Takeshi and raised one eyebrow, "Takeshi?" He asked.

Coming out of his daze Takeshi composed himself, "Nothing, I was just lost in thought." He then walked up to Akira and began his instructions again, yet inwardly he was starting to grow afraid, "If he walks the right path then another hero will appear in history, but... If he is lead down the wrong path... I am afraid I will be the person who taught the devil himself and has doomed countless people."

...

Groan. The sun was shinning outside and cast its rays upon Arata's eyes. With a twitch of his eyelid he slowly opened his eyes, while raising one hand to block the sun. After taking a second to organize his messy thoughts he took in his surroundings, "...I am alive?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, you are." Came a soft voice. Arata turned his head to the side and saw a figure sitting in a chair next to him. A black robe on his body, a book in his hand. The figure had flowing hair that was like the sunrise and even despite his still blurry vision, he could see two shinning blue orbs looking at him. Clear like a cloudless sky, as you watched the two blue eyes you can't help but lose yourself in them. For a while he couldn't help but stare and admire the youth next to him and relief washed over him, knowing he was alive.

Akira gently close the book in his hand and proceeded to tell Arata everything that happened after he passed out. After hearing the story Arata nodded his head, "Isamu... While I was travelling with the old captain, I think I heard a rumour or two about him and his group. They are good bunch, if they feel like it, they can even do a job or two for free and to top it off, they are skilled in combat. You don't have to worry about them."

Akira nodded his head, "I know, I was watching him for a while. He is trustworthy."

Arata sighed in relief, but then the next words came, "You on the otherhand..." Arata's body froze as he lay there motionless. He knew what Akita wanted to say. So that Akira could live, he forced a choice upon him and started a suicide attack to open the path. In his mind it was the correct move, he had no regrets. And yet, he understood that at the end, he completely ignored Akira's wishes and selfishly pressed his decision upon him, selfishly suiciding. At the end of the day, Akira would have lived, but he would have lived with the guilt of having a friend sacrifice his life for him. And that was not an easy burden to bear.

Arata lay there quietly and after a moment he spoke, "What I did was selfish. I ignored your wishes and selfishly forced you to make a decision... But I won't say I am sorry. I don't regret my choice."

Akira nodded his head slightly, "I know. After living together with you for a while, I understood that you tend to place other people's lives above your own, because you believe that your journey is at an end and their's still has a long way to go."

Arata was startled yet didn't refute. He wasn't ambitious and his main goal - revenge- was accomplished, so in this life he was done, he had no more ambitions, no more revenge, no great goals. Thats why he prioritised Akira's life over his own with no hesitation. Akira was still young, full of wisdom and goals, he had a long life, and he wanted to protect that.

Arata turned to face Akira and saw a rare frown on his face, "I know you won't apologize for what you did, but remember my words. Listen clear, never dare to say that your life was pathetic or meaningless."

Arata was stunned by the words and his eyes widened, "You fought many battles. Even if for the sake of your revenge, you fought and saved many people. Even if your journey had ended you stayed loyal to the person who taught you and fought for his cause. Even if you gave up on life you fought and saved me from those bandits. You taught me many things about this world and you constantly worried about me and prioritised my life. If your life and actions were meaningless and pathetic, does that man that everyone you saved were also pathetic and meaningless?"

Arata was stunned and opened his mouth, "I- I didn't mean it that way-"

"Shut up." Akira said in a calm voice. It was calm, but he could sense the anger underneath the calm waters, "You saved me, taught me and protected me even in the face of the death. No matter how I look at it, such a man is anything but pathetic and his life definitely isn't meaningless. So I never, ever, want to hear those words again, otherwise the person to beat you up will be me and not some trashy, piss-poor bandit, got it?" Akira said with a final glare and without waiting for an answer left the room.

Arata stayed in bed, schocked. After a while, he let a smile form on his lips. It was a small smile, hard to miss, yet for the first time in many years he felt genuinely happy and released a small laugh, "Hey captain... I just got scolded after so many years...Haha"

...

After some time Arata finally got up and went downstairs. Although he was still weak, he had recovered enough to walk around the house. He looked around the clinic and saw that there were some sleeping bags on the floor for the Thunderwolf mercenaries, there were some documents and plans on the table.

"Yo, so the awesome big bro finally awakened." He heard a laid-back voice from behind him.

Arata turned around and saw Isamu standing there, leaning against the doorframe, a carefree expression on his face, "Isamu of the Thunderwolf, I presume?"

Isamu nodded his head, "That would be the one and only magnificent me."

Arata's eyebrow twitched. He remembered that among the scarce rumours he heard about Isamu, there were some that said he was annoying. Isamu released a small laugh, "I saw your battle, bro. Standing surrounded by many bandits, a kid behind your back. With a roar you charged forward and cut through those bandits like a knife through butter and you cleared the path for him, intent on sacrificing yourself for the kid with no hesitation. I admire that, it shows that you are a good friend who truly values those around him."

Arata sighed, "Nothing much to admire. I was dead either way, so I decided to at least save Akira. That is nothing but weakness."

Hearing this Isamu's brow twitched, "What did you say?" he growled lightly.

Arata was surprised by the sudden change. A vein appeared on Isamu's forehead, "Hey, bro, do you know how arrogant you sound right now?"

Arata's eyebrows shot up. Arrogant? How was this arrogant, it was simply the truth. Isamu frowned, "Tell me, how many people are there that can do what you did? How many people out there will stay by the side of their friends in their greatest time of need? How many people are willing to sacrifice so much for the people they care about? Weakness? Don't spout bullshit. In the hands of a coward even the power of a god will be wasted, yet at the hands of a couragous person even a stick will become a fearsome weapon. It is easy to hurt and abandon, but how difficult is it to let go and sacrifice? Then you tell me, what about the many heroes of the past who sacrificed themselves for their nations and friends? Were they weak? Shit, if people had even a fraction of the courage you had, the world wold instantly become a better place, yet you call that a weakness? Just how arrogant can you get?"

Akira's last words appeared in his mind again and he couldn't find anything to say. Isamu was still pissed and wasn't finished, but a clearing of the throat captured both of their attention. They turned to the side and saw Takeshi standing there, "You two done discussing philosophy? We have a lead on the informant."

Isamu and Arata were surprised as they stared at the old veteran, "Who?" Isamu's previous expression disappeared and again appeared the leader of the Thunderwolves. Takeshi nodded his head, "We don't know his name, but he will appear in a bar tonight. We can then capture him and get some information."

Arata and Isamu nodded their heads. Isamu turned around and walked towards the door, "I will go inform my men."

Takeshi nodded his head, "I will also get ready." Came Arata's voice.

Isamu turned a glare towards him, "Fuck no, I don't need a suicidal bastard fighting next to me."

Arata's eyes widened for what felt like the hundreth time, yet Isamu turned around and left, "You should go and rest, it would be best to not agitate your injuries any further." Takeshi's voice came from behind as he also left to make his own preparations. Arata stood there silently... A long time. It had been a long time since he felt like this. He felt really pissed off. The last time he felt such a strong emotion was many years ago. Suicidal? He simply made the logicial decision at the time. It was either both of them or just him, while Akira could escape. Confused and angry, Arata turned around and walked upstairs.

...

It was night time outside and the Thunderwolves had dropped their easy-going manners and were standing around the village wearing civilian clothing. Yet their eyes shined like a group of wolves eyeing its prey. Through the city gates calmly walked in a middle aged man and the group's eyes started shinning as they saw him walk towards a specific bar. The men started looking at each other and nodding slightly, with some men disappearing into the alleyways.

The middle aged man then went into a bar and found an empty seat, oblivious to Isamu's gaze on him. The men reappeared out of the alley, prepared for combat. They saw that several guards were stationed near the pub. Everytime the informant went to the bar, these people would show up, obviously to make sure the informant was alright and if something happened they would run back to report to the bandit leader. Because these people were locals it didn't seem too strange and yet, when they only appear and leave at the same time as the informant it becomes obvious.

The man was sitting in the bar for over half an hour and slowly became restless. The beer in front of him remained untouched, small beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. The man eventually ran out of patience, paid his money for the beer and went outside. He hurriedly started walking towards the village entrance, but froze in place when he saw several armed men appear from multiple alleys, surrounding him, looking at him like wolves at a lamb.

The man swallowed a lump of saliva and with a quick yell started dashing into an alley. The men then also got to work and started chasing their targets. One by one the targets were being pinned down, yet to everyones surprise, out of an alleyway ran out a prostitue. She was covered in beads of sweat, thinking that she was found out, yet no one had actually knew her identity, because she was a prostitue that was on the corner at all nights, so the men let her slip through.

Everyone cursed as the woman ran and eventually reached the village entrance, happiness appeared in her eyes, elated that she would be able to escape... And yet, a shadow appeared on her face. She looked up and saw a figure descent from the sky and land direcly on her, "Where did he come from? There are no such tall building, how did he jump so high?" Confusion written on her face, a black robed figure landed on the woman and pinned her to the ground. It was none other than Akira. After training with Takeshi, jumping very high with a chakra boost was the least he could do at this point.

After Akira captured the woman, the men quickly gathered together and put all the spies in a pile, "Wow, that was pretty cool, Akira. Where did you learn something like that?" Isamu asked. He was genuinely surprised as when he first saw Akira being surrounded by bandits he was just a kid who knew some taijutsu, yet now just 3 weeks passed and he could already jump over buildings. What kind of progression was that?

Akira smiled gently, "I had a good teacher." Understanding dawning on him Isamu released a laugh, "Now, lets get some information shall we?"

Akira turned to the spies who were now trembling as they were bunched together, tied up, "Tell us who the informant is."

"What are you talking about? What kind of informant? You guys, we are paying you to protect us and this is what you do?" One of the men roared. Isamu only smirked and punched him in the face, leaving him with a bloody nose. The rest of the spies trembled upon seeing the sight. After all, even though they worked for the bandits they were still local villagers that were paid by the bandits. Things like violence and fighting was new to them.

Akira walked closer, his gaze sligtly narrowing, "There is a person you meet in the bars regularly. That person gives you all the information you guys need, but today he didn't show up. Who is that perosn? Where is he?"

The middle aged man shook his head, "I don't know. I don't know. I swear."

Isamu sneered and cracked his knuckles, preparing to give him a good beating. And yet, Akira extended a hand, stopping him. He knew that he had to be careful as to not push these people over the edge. Cause them some fear and offer them a shred of hope that they will get off easily if they spill the beans. These people to whom pain was foreign would definitely jump on the chance to escape the beatings and interrogation, plus in their minds, the bandits will soon be dead so no use in protecting them anymore.

Akira was about to continue talking, yet everyone suddenly froze and trembled. No, to be more precise the ground tremlbed. Everyone looked towards the village and saw that on the other end of the village smoke was rising and screams of panic were rising, along with battle cries and laughter. Isamu's eyes widened, "Those crazy bastards are actually attacking the village. Shit, what do we do?"

Akira's gaze narrowed slightly, but he supressed it and put on a gentle expression and turned to the spies, "Tell us who the informant is. Are you actually going to hide it at this point? The bandits are raiding the village, they will steal everything you have and I wonder what will they do with you guys? If you don't tell us, then this village will be ruined." At this point they had to get the informant's name. There was a massive explosion at the end of the village and Akira clearly realized what that meant. That meant that the bandits knew what they were doing all along and let them capture the spies and waste their time, while the bandits would attack the other end of the village. To protect it, the Thunderwolves would have to run quickly and they wouldn't have much time to strategize and after the running they would be slightly tired, giving the bandits the advantage.

The informant was also a mystery. He managed to gather all of their information, plans and deliver it to the bandits through unknown channels, plus, he also set up a big amount of explosives within the village. No simple villager could do. Akira's eyes narrowed as he started having his suspicions, but memories surfaced and he didn't want to believe it, but the only ones who could answer his suspicions were these spies.

The situation was urgent, but he didn't push it, he only put on his kind smile, "Tell us, there is not much time. Your home will soon be gone."

The middle aged man gritted his teeth, "I don't know, okay, I don't know." he shouted in desperation, "Everytime its a different person."

Akira's eyes widened, but then they narrowed. His expression turned stiff, because he realized what was going on and he knew just how dangerous this situation was. He turned to Isamu, "Isamu, go block the bandits, I have some business to attend to." Isamu nodded his head and looked at his men, "Alright, lets go! We have to hold off the bandits and protect the village. Abandon the gate, we will set up a barricade at a narrow street and fight against them there. Come on, lets move!"

Akira looked as the men moved out, but he didn't go. His gaze turned towards the direction of Takeshi's clinic. Without waiting for a second more he channeled chakra to his legs and started dashing through the streets.

Chapter end

 **The culmination. The conflict. So mysterious, oooooh. How will this end I wonder? I bet you are also curious, but unfortunately this will be a cliff hanger. Yes, I know, hate me. I feed on people's negative emotions.**

 **As always, thanks for reading the chapter. Drop a review to let me know what you think and I will see you guys at the next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer - I own nothing.

Chapter 6: Falling snow

Arata stood inside Takeshi's home. He didn't sit, he was still feeling angry. The moonlight shone through the window and he stood there, watching his katana, which lay on the table. Many thoughts arose in his head and he just couldn't settle down.

"Are you not going out?" A calm voice came from behind him. Arata looked behind him and saw Takeshi standing there. He heard the question, but he couldn't give an answer.

"I lived my life for the sake of my revenge. A few years ago I finally got it, but there was no sense of accomplishment, no happiness. After I got my revenge, I simply stood there dazed, thinking 'Ah, this it it. So what do I do now?'. My life became empty as I couldn't find any meaning. All I did was follow my father-figure across the battlefields and I fought. No purpose, no reason, no goal. I just fought and killed. When I finally met Akira, I decided to travel with him. I decided that my goal was to find my place in this world and live a life I was satisfied with. And yet, during that battle I sacrificed myself so that Akira could live. If I didn't, we both would have died. Was that not the right decision? Just how did I become a suicidal bastard? Just how was I arrogant?" He asked, confused.

Takeshi smirked, "You still don't understand, do you?"

Arata looked up from his katana towards the old veteran and listened, "They say there is a thin line between a fool and a genius. I think the same applies to you in this situation. You decided to sacrifice your life for Akira's, but why was it?"

Arata furrowed his brows, "He is younger than me, he still has a lot to live for. Isn't it a given that the older generation must sacrifice itself for the younger?"

Takeshi nodded, "Yes, preserving the younger generation is our job, but was it really it? Did you decide to sacrifice yourself because you believed in preserving Akira's life and saving the younger generation, or did you sacrifice yourself because you thought that your life is worth less than his?"

Arata opened his mouth, but he couldn't answer, so he shut his mouth. Takeshi continued, "You know, believing in the potential of others and sacrificing for others is not a bad thing. It can be considered a noble act. During the war, I saw many people sacrifice themselves for the sake of their friends and comrades. But they sacrificed themselves for a greater good, because they cared about their friends. What about you? You jumped into a sea of blades simply because you thought you were inferior, worthless. How can that be someone you can entrust you back to? How can you entrust your back to a person who has no sense of self worth? Because you have no sense of self worth you have no thoughts of preserving your own life, thus pushing others into a dangerous situations. How can anyone trust a man who is like a bomb ready to go off at any second, ready to take down as many people with him as he can?."

Arata's mouth opened and closed, then opened again, "I thought that was the right thing to do... I..."

Takeshi finished his sentence, "You thought it was worth fighting to the end... But was that the only choice? Did you think I would abandon you guys and my own apprentice? Did you think that although I am old I can't sneak into their camp and free you guys? No, you didn't think. You just decided to end it. "

Arata's fists clenched tightly. Takeshi was right. After a long while he had finally found a small goal to grasp on to, but that was it. He believed that in his life there wouldn't be much he could do anymore, so Arata had no hesitation with sacrificing his life for his friends. Yet that was not noble, because of this, he stopped thinking about preserving himself, he would watch others to see if he needed to sacrifice himself, what was the best way to take down as many enemies with him?

Takeshi looked at him with a deep gaze, his thoughts hidden, "So, what will you do? You think your life to be worthless, pathetic, but I can name at least one person who disagrees, who wants you to live no matter what. Are you ready to disappoint him?"

Arata raised his hand and stroke the hilt of the sword, he was lost in his thoughts as he thought about Akira's words in the morning, "Then..." The hand went up and firmly grasped the hilt of the sword, Arata slowly looked back at Takeshi, his eyes blazing with fire, "I will cut down everyone who stands in my way. I will live, for that one single person."

Takeshi smirked, "Right now, the bandits invaded the city and that person needs some help to manage the situation."

Arata drew his katana and put the scabbard on the bed, he then turned around and walked past Takeshi, his steps filled with power and vigour, "I will be back for that scabbard."

Takeshi smirked, "Don't worry, I won't touch it."

Before he exited, Arata stopped at the doorframe, "Thank you." He said earnestly as he bowed towards the old veteran. Takeshi merely sighed and waved him off, "Geez, young people are so difficult to deal with these days. Go."

Arata straightened his back and then left the building, giving off the aura of a tiger who woke up after a long period of sleep. He still had some injuries, but he gave off the feeling of someone who could not be stopped.

Takeshi also walked downstairs and stood in the main room, a bunch of tools on the table. He looked at his old tools of trade and sighed, "One last time, old friends."

"Truly... One last time." Came a cold voice from behind Takeshi and he turned around as he felt a strong sense of danger, "You!"

...

Arata ran along the streets towards the part where the sound of fighting was coming from. He ran as fast as he could. Along the way a dark figure jumped down from the rooftop and landed before Arata. The two figures stared at each other.

"You finally found it." Akira's clam voice came from the front.

Arata smirked, "Yeah, I found it."

After a moment of silence Akira look deeply into Arata's eyes, "You will live." he said calmly again.

Arata nodded, "No matter what."

Akira smiled gently, "Isamu is near the city centre."

Arata nodded his head and a confident smile emerged on his lips. The two men only gazed at each others eyes and dashed forward, shoulders brushing, they ran past each other. Arata's confident smile and blazing eyes softened at that moment, "I will go to the centre, and once I'm done, we will go see the world. I swear. " He silently vowed inside his heart.

This person, Akira, he believed in him. He told him he was needed, his life was neither pathetic nor meaningless. To Arata, Akira was just like his hair, a true sunrise. In his life, the night has ended and with Akira's appearance he brought the first rays of the sun with him, washing away the darkness. It was time for a new day, a new chapter in his life. And this was the first step. He vowed that no matter what, he will protect that sun in his life...

Akira's gaze also softened, "You finally found it, I am truly glad, Arata." The two figures dashed to their own destinations. No questions asked, no more needed to be said. They both had their goals so they ran.

After a while of running Akira quickly come to Takeshi's home. Slightly panting he dashed inside and was surprised by what he saw. Inside the house it was like a hurricane went through. Akira's eyes narrowed and in a slightly pained voice he sighed, "Like I thought..."

He then searched the room and picked up a blood trail, looking that it lead to the backyard and then to the forest, Akira dashed off, following it.

...

Isamu roared at the top of his lungs, "Come on, guys. Aren't you the Thunderwolves? All I see are thunderfarts, you yell louder than you harm."

The men were obviously annoyed, but they grinned and with a battle cry they charged forward, clashing against the bandits once more. "Move out of the way, you damn trash" Isamu shouted as he cut down a bandit and proceeded forward. He looked around and sighed. They were fighting in a street, because it was slightly narrow the bandit's couldn't fully utilize their advantage of numbers, but the stamina of his men was steadily wearing out and the fire had already spread so far, the temperature kept rising, making it even harder on them.

Isamu blocked another striked and cursed, "You damn... Move!" He pushed the man away and charged forward, doing a horizontal slash, making the bandit spill his guts. Isamu stopped as he took another breath and wiped off the sweat. However, one bandit took this opportunity and attacked him from the side. Isamu cursed as he knew he wouldn't be able to block so he prepared to sacrifice his left arm, yet to his relief a katana interjected and blocked the strike, then pushed the bandit away.

Isamu sighed, "Man, tha-" He stopped when he saw that before him stood Arata. He frowned and was about to curse, but then he noticed Arata's eyes when he turned around. Now, Arata was no longer a suicidal maniac, he was the courageous and trustworthy ally. Isamu didn't say anything and only smirked. Arata also nodded his head. Nothing needed to be said.

A bandit released a war shout as he charged at Arata. He turned to the bandit and entered a stance with his katana. His gaze sharpened like a tigers and his muscles contraced. Due to his injuries he felt some pain, but he ignored it and with a roar unleashed a mighty slash. The bandit got terrified by the roar full of vigor and strength and stopped for a second. The blade didn't stop and actually broke the bandit's sword and left a massive gaping wound on his chest. Even now, the bandit fell to the ground, confused as to what just happened.

Arata exhaled his breath and straightened his back. All the bandits looked at him in fear, it was like a tiger descended the mountain and was about to start a slaughter. Isamu only chuckled at the side, "Yeah, there is no way I saw it wrong. Back then, what I saw wasn't a maniac, it was a tiger baring its fangs at those who tried to harm its friends. But now, the tiger is awake" He said quietly, watching as Arata charged forward and started a slaughter.

He charged forward and with a quick footwork technique spun around a bandit, whilst also unleashing a slash to his neck, instantly beheading him. He then stopped his spin and continued running forward. With a deep inhale, his muscles bulged and with another step he unleashed a mighty strike at a bandit, knocking the weapon out of his hand slaying him on the spot.

Two more men ran at him from the sides, he exhaled the breath and relaxed his muscles, then turned a terrifying glare at one of the bandits, using his sword to parry the attack and redirect his momentum into the second bandit. The two bandits clashed and with a charge Akira cut one into two peaces and beheaded the other, whilst also releasing a frightening battle cry. No, it wasn't a battle cry, it was a roar. The roar of a tiger.

Another bandit ran at him from behind, but the bandit didn't even react when his head flew off his shoulders along with the tip of his sword and nothing but a fountain of blood hit Arata. Isamu and the bandits only stood there, staring at Arata. This was the true Arata, the man who trained relentlessly for many years for the sake of vengeance. This is the man who fought on countless battlefields. With his back straight, his sword at his side and tiger-like eyes, he stood in place and yet no bandit dared to approach him. This was Arata.

Isamu then unleashed a loud laugh, "You see that, men? Are you going to let him outdo you? Come on, don't let him steal the spotlight, show him what we Thunderwolves are made of." Isamu also roared and a ferocious expression appeared on his face as he and the men charged at the bandits.

But at this time a voice came, "Heeeh, you carry the smell of the battlefield. Hehe, you look like you will be fun to play with. Come here, little tiger, let me use your bones as a toothpick." At this time a man emerged from the behind the bandits. The man was completely ferocious, like a wild animal. Bulging muscles, a dark brown mane of hair, his chest bare and ripped pants on his legs, exposing bare feet. The man had no weapons, but his hands looked like they could crush boulders. And the most frightening part was his aura. Everyone quickly realized that this was no man, this was a beast wearing human skin.

Arata frowned, but didn't stop. He got into a stance and his gaze sharpened, he inhaled lightly and charged at the new enemy with a roar.

...

Akira ran quickly through the forest, using chakra to enhance his speed and hop along the trees. As he ran along the forest he would notice some signs of battle here and there along with some blood. At first he wasn't too worried, but as he saw more and more blood he unconsciously picked up his speed. As he was dashing through the forest a sharp sound entered Akira's ears and he couldn't help but jump off the branch and land on another tree, standing on it, sideways.

Not a second later a few kunai knives hit the branch he was standing on. Akira looked at the branch and narrowed his eyes as he looked at where they came from.

"Wow, for someone so young, you sure have good reflexes." High on a tree stood a young woman. She carried around a very young and refreshing aura like that of a 17 year old, yet her body had curves and assets that would put most women to shame. Wearing a dark blue kimono that revealed her shoulders and some cleavage, exposing a long and slender leg. The woman had curly very dark green hair that was tied into a pony tail and beautiful golden eyes. When one looked at the woman only one word came to mind, a seductress. To look at her and to not have any urges surface and to not have any thoughts of wanting to ravage this beautiful woman would require a person to have amazing self-control.

Watching her Akira slightly coughed in his hand and turned his head away. The young woman seemed pleased with the gesture and giggled, "Whats the matter, are you shy? You can look, I don't mind."

Akira simply shook his head, "You are exposing yourself a lot... I think thats indecent."

The young woman stood there dumbfounded. She then released a snicker which was followed by a light and beautiful laughter, "Haha, is that so? Though what would you say if I were to tell you that I don't mind you looking at me?"

Akira shook his head again, "You should respect your body, because its your most valuable treasure. Could you please cover up a little?"

At first the young woman thought that Akira was simply naive and didn't know how to react, thats why he looked away, yet after those words she understood that the kid before her truly didn't have much indecent thoughts and didn't want to look at her as to show her respect, so she stood there dumbfounded, unable to understand what the kid before her was..., "Hey... How old are you?"

Akira then peeked out of the corner of his eyes and resolved himself to only look at the woman's face, showing a tremendous display of self-control, "Don't know, probably close to 15 or something, why?"

The woman raised one eyebrow, "Close to 15? Probably?"

Akira nodded, "Unfortunately, I have amnesia so I don't know my exact age, though my friend says that I should be late into my 14."

The woman only looked at Akira with a blank look. A kid ignored her charms. A kid admonished her, telling her to cover up herself. This was the first time this happened in her life. Most men would only oogle at her breasts and figure and even if she looked at them to show that they were caught staring, they would only return the stare, trying to show off, as if to tell her that they were strong men that could handle her. She didn't mind or anything, she had already grown used to it, yet this was the first time she had encountered such a peculiar kid, "I think your friend was lying. If I were to judge by the way you act, I would say you are well over 100 years old." The young woman then sighed, but still found the kid amusing. Either way she was ordered to hold him off, so she might as well strike up a conversation, "Well, doesn't matter, I suppose. My name is Tsubaki, how am I supposed to address you?"

Akira nodded his head, "Nice to meet you, my name is Akira." he said with a slight bow. Tsubaki's eyebrow twitched again, "He really is like an old man!" she couldn't help but yell inside her head. Yet to her surprise the conversation was quickly cut off.

"Well, Tsubaki, it was a pleasure meeting you, but I have business ahead. I hope we will meet again, farewell." Akira said as he started his dash again.

Tsubaki only giggled and released a few kunai from her position. Seeing the flying kunai, Akira's gaze narrowed and his mood dropped. He inhaled lightly and disappeared in a puff of smoke, being replaced by a log that was pierced by the kunai. The young woman's eyebrows shot up as she bit her lips and jumped back. Not a second later Akira gently landed on the branch she stood on. It was obvious that he restricted himself, intending on only subduing her as gently as he could. Seeing that, a smile surfaced on Tsubaki's face, "My, you are even going easy on me? Well... I suppose you will have to pay the price then."

She stared at Akira expectantly, yet as time passed he didn't move, which caused Tsubaki to furrow her eyebrows. Akira only released a sigh, "Poison? I must say, it far from enough to take me down."

After landing on the branch Akira smelled poison in that area, obviously showing that the woman specialized in assassinations with her poison and quick, accurate kunai throws. And yet, to his own surprise, even though he inhaled the poison, he didn't feel much, only slightly more sluggish than usual, but he knew the poison wasn't really affecting him.

Akira's expression fell as she cursed silently, "That should have been enough to knock out chuunin level ninja and even make jounin unsteady on their feet, yet he stands there like nothing?" This time Tsubaki realized the danger she was in. She was never a person meant for direct combat, she specialized in approaching targets and poisoning them. Her poisons had little to no affect and her surprise attack failed. This kid was obviously the very definition of being peculiar. She was about to turn around, yet her eyes widened as Akira moved backwards, slightly falling off the branch and with a burst of chakra he set off towards Tsubaki.

He did a spin in the air, turning to face her and extended his hand. Tsubaki's eyes widened in alarm as she jumped back to dodge again, yet to her surprise as soon as Akira landed, his hand immediately extended grabbing her long leg by the ankle like an iron shackle. One of her slippers fell of from her shapely foot, yet Akira pulled on her leg and jumped again, appearing before her and extending his second arm, grabbing her neck and slamming her into a branch. The slam wasn't too hard, he only intended to knock her out. Even though he had his morals and didn't enjoy hurting women, Akira was far too worried about Takeshi right now, so he decided to be a little rough.

Tsubaki's head started spinning as she grimaced in pain, "Is that how you treat ladies?" she said lightly. She knew she was done for. This kid was far too strange and she just couldn't get an accurate grasp on his strength, bus she knew she was not his match in direct combat and she knew what waited for losers in this cruel world. Losers would be considered as let off easily if they were just killed, yet if two people had a grudge against each other, it wasn't weird to capture and torture the loser and beautiful women like her would have an even crueler fate in store. Yet she knew she was outmached. Her poison didn't work and even her surprise attack failed when he wasn't paying attention to her and he subdued her while going easy on her. She closed her eyes and waited for what was to come.

Yet Akira only released her neck and a small sigh came out of his lips, "I am very sorry, I don't like hurting women either, but I am far too worried about a person I know. Well then, I will be going ahead, do take care." Akira said as he stood up and dashed into the forest again.

Tsubaki was laying there on the branch in disbelief. He defeated her and her life was in his hands, yet he simply left? He didn't tie her up to come back later, didn't knock her out. He simply left... "Motherfucker, am I really not even registerining in that kid's eyes or is he blind?"

Tsubaki was naturally happy that Akira let her go, but after being ignored by him just like that and even admonished, she suffered a huge blow to her confidence. Yet, she still got up, despite her slightly dizzy head, and sighed. She didn't wish to celebrate too early, so she turned around and disappeared into the forest, "Well, I did as I was ordered, I held him off. Damn, they could have warned me that he was a god damn monster and not a single weapon of mine would work." She silently cursed. Her beauty, poisons and surprise attacks were all her weapons, yet none of them affected Akira in the least. Running away she was was feeling really annoyed and decided that she will show him how terrifying she can truly be next time.

Akira dashed through the forest, oblivious to Tsubaki's thoughts, all he did was follow the trail and ran. After a while the sound of battle could be heard and Akira landed on a tree and saw Takeshi exchanging blows with a figure in far distance. Seeing that Takeshi was still alive, albeit with some injuries, Akira was relieved, but as he looked at the second figure and his suspicions came true, he felt complex feelings. That figure was none other than Takeshi's apprentice, Mikado.

At first, Akira thought that Mikado was truly a good person, who was simply trying to help people, yet as they encountered more and more things, Akira couldn't help but grow suspicious. To get accurate information on the goods and schedules of merchants was very difficult and no simple villager could do it. That was the first clue.

When Akira was staying at Takeshi's home, some herbs disappeared from storage, although Takeshi swore some should have been left in stock. Then, they went to the mountain and encountered the ambush. Plus, Mikado did fight against the bandits and was eventually overwhelmed, yet why did he have so few injuries and even had enough chakra left to treat people after the battle? That was the second clue.

Then, the group started planning against the bandits and all their plans were leaked and the bandits even took the initiative. That was the third clue.

In a clinic, merchants would obviously make small talk with Takeshi, talking about how long they would stay in the village and, as a ninja, Mikado would have no problem inspecting their goods. As Takeshi's apprentice, he obviously had access to the herb storage and as someone involved in the fight, he obviously could hear all their plans. They were planning and preparing so hard, not knowing that the true mastermind was always by their side, listening, planning.

Boom!

Takeshi and Mikado jumped away from the blast as they exchanged blows. Takeshi landed on the ground and kneeled. Out of the two, it was obvious he was on the losing end. He had more injuries and he was already panting as he watched Mikado.

"I should have known... I should have seen the signs." Takeshi sighed, "It turns out you were behind everything."

Mikado chuckled, "Thats right, dear master. Not that it matters anymore, right? Anyway could you do me a favour and return to the village. There really is no point in us killing each other and I truly had looked up to you, so I want you to live out the rest of your life in peace."

Takeshi sighed again as a trace of sorrow appeared on his old and wrinkled face, "Where did I go wrong?"

Mikado shook his head, "You didn't. I am simply like this, I simply took your teaching and took the parts that suited me. So can you please return now?"

Takeshi shook his head, "I am afraid I can't. I brought you up, you are like a son to me and if a son goes down the wrong path, then its the job of the father to set him back on the correct path."

Mikado looked at Takeshi with gentle eyes, "Oh, my dear master. I didn't go down a wrong path, this was simply my path from the beginning. You don't have to feel sorrow, I have no intentions of starting massacres. I am simply tired of being the person, who is being taken from. That's why I will start a revolution, a revolution against the evil of this world. I will make sure there are no more children like me, who will have to suffer freezing colds during the winter, I will make sure to break this cycle of hatred. It is a noble goal, master, can't you see it?"

Takeshi shook his head once again, "And this is how you go about it? By employing bandits, ordering them to rob and kill people? By attacking the village? How far will this go, Mikado?

Mikado chuckled, "Oh please, master. You are a ninja, you should know that if its for the sake of victory, then the means justify the end. I won't be constricted by narrow morals, I will use everything I can get my hands on to change this corrupted and screwed up world."

Takeshi sighed in sorrow, "If it were so easy, don't you think this world would have been different? Don't you think a legendary figure like Hashirama Senju would have changed it, through force and diplomacy?"

Mikado nodded, "But he did change it, master. He ended the warring states periods. He founded the village of Konoha, which is now known as the greatest hidden village. He brought upon an era of change and we are closer to peace than in the past. The only flaw in his actions were, was that he was restricted by his morals. He sealed the great tailed beasts and gave them out to the villages, establishing a balance in power, yet wasn't that far too foolish? He could control the tailed beasts, so why didn't he he keep them for himself? He could have reigned supreme and brought upon a true era of peace! Yet he was simply far too kind..."

Takeshi shook his head, "You don't understand, Mikado, you simply don't understand. Humans are not that simple, the harder you press down on a person, the more he will struggle to get up. This kind of peace, it is only a fabrication. Once his power were to waver, it would explode in his face and the world would descend into even greater chaos than before."

"That's only if you rule them by pushing them down. But if you achieve peace through force and give people lives they are satisfied with, why would they throw it away? How could the ordinary people allow those selfish people throw away the peace and good lives that were finally given to them?" Mikado raised his voice zealously.

Takeshi sighed yet again, "You simply don't understand, Mikado... Humans are not that simple."

Mikado sneered, "Enough! I gave you a chance to return, but you threw it away. This will end here."

"How far are you willing to take this, Mikado? How many people will have to die for your so-called 'peace'?" Takeshi asked.

Mikado got into a stance and his eyes slightly parted, revealing a venomous expression, "Only those who stand in my way!" he said as he charged at Takeshi.

Takeshi also got into a stance, forcing his trembling body to stand tall as chakra enveloped his body and he charged forward. The two fists collided and an explosion appeared, scattering the dust around the area. Takeshi and Mikado then parted from the middle and charged forward again, exchanging blow for blow, injuries pilling up. The two were far too familiar with each other's moves. The two had trained together ever since Takeshi took Mikado in, so they had fought so many times they had lost count.

Two blows were unleashed. Takeshi's fist landed on Mikado's face and Mikado's fist landed on Takeshi's jaw. Blood splurted out as they took a step back. Mikado clenched his teeth and charged forward, unleashing a flury of blows, yet Takeshi didn't panic and defended on by one. As the last blow fell Takeshi moved his head to the side, dodging it, he then crouched on the floor and sweeped Mikado's legs from underneath.

Mikado cursed loudly as he fell to the ground and rolled backwards, trying to get up. Yet as Takeshi finished the sweep, he was standing up from his spin and with his back turned to Mikado a kunai appeared in his hand. In an instant it was enveloped by and aura of lightning and, with his back turned to Mikado, he threw the kunai without looking.

At the same time Mikado stood up from his roll and saw an electrified kunai flying at him. His eyes widened in surprise as he leaned to the side, but the kunai's speed was too fast and it caught him by his kimono, accurately dragging him back and nailing him to a tree.

At this time Takeshi finally finished his spin and charged forward, his fist enveloped in chakra, he got close and unleashed a strong punch straight at Mikado, who could only watch it coming with fear in his eyes. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come, yet all he felt was a slight wind hitting his face. Mikado slowly opened his eyes and saw the fist in front of him, he then turned to Takeshi and saw that his body was trembling and in his eyes was a great conflict.

He just couldn't do it. He raised Mikado ever since he was a small child. He still remembered that day. It was snowing that day, the snow was piling up and he had went out to the next village to get some supplies. In the middle of a field lay a child. He quickly rushed to aid him and saw the child turn to him. His eyes had no hope, he only wished to die, yet he couldn't bear to abandon him, so he took in the small child. He gave him food to warm him up, he treated his cold. He watched the hope in the child's eyes appear again, he taught the child everything he knew. Little did Mikado know, was that he had saved Takeshi just like Takeshi had saved Mikado. Thanks to the appearance of the child, the home didn't seem so cold and empty anymore, thanks to that small child, the food was more delicious and, thanks to the child, laughter and happiness appeared in the house. Even though they weren't connected by blood, their bond was far stronger than that. All this time, Takeshi considered Mikado his child, so even now, he couldn't do it. His fist couldn't extend those last few centimeters, because as he looked at him, the small smiling face of a child appeared in his eyes and his hand started trembling.

Mikado saw his master's gaze and old trembling form and his gaze softened. With a quiet voice he sighed, "Master..." He then looked up slowly, "You are far too weak." His expression changed as his chakra exploded and he quickly took the kunai from his clothes and threw it Takeshi. The old veteran was already trembling and exhausted, so he couldn't dodge the kunai as it pierced his leg and forced him to kneel. Takeshi gritted his teeth as he looked up and saw Mikado standing before him, his fist covered in chakra and reared back, in his eyes, a cold and indifferent expression, "This is the end."

The fist extended and it flew forward. The fist flew for what seemed for eternity as the two people watched each other. They looked into each other's eyes. In Takeshi's eyes there was no anger, there was no blame, there was only sorrow and sadness, "Ahh, just where did I go wrong? Just why did things turned out this way?" he thought in his head as the punch approached and hit Takeshi straight in the heart, sending the old man flying and coughing up blood.

Takeshi fell and crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The old veteran felt his body grow slightly cold and he simply lay there on the ground, watching the sky. Drops of rain fell from the clouded sky, washing off Takeshi's body..., "Ahh, It is just like that winter again." Takeshi felt the cold seep into his body and in his eyes the rain turned into small and gentle snowflakes, the miniature puddles turned into piles of snow. He still remembered that day clearly. He stood before a small child. The old veteran couldn't bear to see the child suffer so he took him in. As a war veteran he had seen far too much sorrow in his life. He had seen his comrades lying in their own pools of blood with the same empty and vacant expressions. He had grown tired of seeing the same look and he couldn't bear to watch the same look appear on a small child. He fought in the war for the sake of peace, not to watch children die with the same expressions as soldiers in the war.

He didn't regret extending his hand, he had only wished to change the way he taught Mikado. If he were to be there again, he would still extend his hand again and again. No matter how many times, for that child, he will extend his hand. A small smile, appeared on the old veteran's face as he slowly closed his eyes, "Let's... go back... Mikado... To our home..."

...

Mikado stood before Takeshi, watching the life fade out of the old veteran's body. With a final look on confirmation, his eyes hardened and he turned around. He was just about to leave when he heard a loud shout, "NOO!", he turned around and he saw Akira charging in from the distance. Seeing him, Mikado smiled, waved his hand and disappeared in a plume of smoke. Akira landed on the ground and he watched the spot with a restless expression, but he still ran first to Takeshi to check up on him.

Recalling what the old veteran taught him, he checked his pulse, but he all he could feel was he hand slowly become colder and the life leave his body. Eventually his hand dropped down onto the cold ground. The old veteran was no more.

...

An explosion shook the ground as Arata flew back and landed on the ground, all bloody and battered. He gasped for breath and spat some blood, while trying his best to stand up again, yet a shadow appeared before him. The vicious man laughed darkly as he reared back his fist and another punch landed on Arata's body, sending him flying. Arata landed on the ground again and clenched his teeth, "This isn't how it was supposed to go! This... I won't accept this end!" He roared inside his head.

The beastly man was only chuckling from the side, "Come, little tiger, stand up. Bare your fangs again." The beastly man was obviously enjoying toying with his prey, but after seeing Arata fail to stand up he became disappointed, "Che, no fun... Oh well, I suppose its time I finished this."

At that time, however, a beautiful woman emerged from the darkness and landed before the beastly man, "Wolf, we have to go. Master should be finished by now."

The beastly man, Wolf, grinned when he heard it, "So Master actually killed his teacher and stole the heirloom? Haha, and you guys call me merciless."

Tsubaki turned a glare to Wolf, "Enough chatter, we have to go. We don't want any ninjas to pick up on our trail."

Wolf ignored her glare and then turned to Arata, who despite being on the ground was still glaring at him, "Hey, little tiger. Are you unsatisfied with the result? If so, then sharpen your fangs. Sharpen your fangs until they can pierce my skin and come find me again. Remember this, my name is Wolf." Wolf said with a small laugh and he and Tsubaki retreated.

Isamu saw the monstrous man retreat and sighed relief. He then gritted his teeth and using the last of his energy he shouted to his remaining men, "Alright, guys, its time to clean up. One final push and this is over. Go!"

The men roared mightily to lift their spirits up, but by this point they were only dragging their swords and swinging was difficult, yet regardless of that, they charged forward.

Isamu looked up to the sky and sighed as he felt the rain drop down, "This was not how it was supposed to go. Far from it..." He muttered quietly.

...

Chapter End

 **Note: I uploaded this chapter again because I noticed some small mistakes and added a line or two. Sorry for the inconvenience :)**

 **And this signifies the end of Arc 1.**

 **Man, nothing like thinking about life at 4 am while overdosing on coffee and redbull, eh? Fun times. Nearly had a stroke.**

 **With the end of the arc, I will go into stock pilling mode and save up a few chapter, so I can release the next chapters consistently, so you will have to wait for a bit until the next release, but you don't have to worry about me abandoning this story :)**

 **Next up, more adventures await our heroes, new people to meet, new people to kill. This is the end for this chapter, thank you for reading my story. Drop a review, to let me know what you think, I am always happy to read reviews. Have a wonderful day and I hope something good happens to you today. Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer - I own nothing.

 **Short Author Note:**

 **Hello, dear readers! Sorry it took so long to start releasing new chapters. I started writing them, but some business came up in real life and I also got a writer's block. I had some difficulty continuing writing, but its done! Its back! I hope I haven't made you wait too long. Part of the reason was also because one of my favorite novels was coming to an end, so I also spent some time reading it :P (Warlock of the magus world, for those who are interested. It is a fantasy novel with magic and shit, the thing for people, who like a merciless and calculating magician MC. It can be read for free on :P)**

Chapter 7: In the deep mountains

The battle has ended and about a month has passed. The group stayed within the village, healing their wounds, helping with repairs. No one was in the mood to celebrate. The reason is because they lost on all fronts. A quarter of village was destroyed, Takeshi was killed, some members of the Thunderwolf group are buried and the mastermind, Mikado, has escaped. No one knew what his goal was, all they knew was that he was a dangerous person.

Although the mood was gloomy, they didn't let it persist for too long. Sometimes you would win, sometimes you would lose, that was life and they all accepted it. No one could win forever, everything has an end. The most beautiful fairy tails end, the greatest of legends end, even the mightiest emperors fall. It was simply how life is and if you refuse to accept one loss, then you will never be able to move forward from that spot.

Using the time period of healing and helping the village everyone was doing their own thing. Arata started his own training again, Isamu watched over his men and Akira took Takeshi's books and secluded himself. Akira felt sad over the old veteran's death, after all, he was really kind to them. As a thanks, he found a mountain near the village with a beautiful view and decided to bury the old veteran there. He then started reading books again and continued his daily training.

...

After some time Arata and Akira stood in the clinic's main room, discussing where they should go next, when Isamu decided to stop by. The two men looked up from the map and looked at the approaching captain, "Hey, you two got a minute?" Isamu asked.

Arata nodded his head, "We were just discussing where to go next. Whats up?" He asked. If someone from the past saw the current Arata they would definitely be surprised. In the past he was jaded, his eyes revealing a cold and indifferent expression and he was hard to approach. Now, however, his eyes weren't indifferent but calm. His back straight, giving off a mature atmosphere, but obviously hiding a great bundle of energy beneath. He wore a gray kimono, with black pants and combat boots that came up to his knees. Over all, he gave off the vibe of a quiet and mature person.

Isamu nodded his head in approval, "Do you have any plans?"

This time Akira shook his head, "Not really. We never had one, we simply stopped by the village by coincidence, and all of that was dropped on our heads. We are simply looking to travel around the world."

Isamu chuckled, "Talk about being unlucky. Anyway, I was thinking about it... Do you guys wanna join my group? You two are strong and are good people, the group would happily have you."

Akira and Arata were surprised by the proposal, but they knew the reason. Isamu's group suffered some casualties and was low on numbers, meaning they can't take on big jobs like in the past. They could still take on bandit clearing missions, but now it would be a lot more difficult and the pay would definitely drop, so he was looking to increase his group's strength and he obviously trusted Arata and Akira so he decided to give it a try.

Unfortunately, Arata shook his head, "Sorry, but if we wanted to join a group, we would have stayed with my old mercenary group. We left because we wanted to travel and find out more about Akira's past."

Isamu seemed disappointed, but he didn't push it. After spending some time together he understood Akira's situation because they didn't hide it, so he knew he had failed. However, to their surprise, Akira spoke up, "I disagree, I think we can join them."

Arata and Isamu were both surprised as they looked at the young man. By this point Arata was growing used to Akira, so he just waited for an explanation, the young man didn't seem to make wasted movements, so he just listened. And Akira didn't let him down and quickly began his explanation.

"If we ever want to join a group, then Isamu's is the best choice, they are trustworthy. Plus, Mikado is out there. He won't be able to cause too much chaos, but I believe he is our problem. We should have been the ones to take him down in this village, but he escaped, and that is the least we could do for Takeshi, who showed us such hospitality while we stayed here. Also, if Mikado starts causing chaos, then mercenary jobs will come out, so it isn't unrelated to the Thunderwolves." Akira calmly explained.

"What about finding out about your past?" Arata asked.

Akira simply shrugged, "I've said this before. If the memories come back, then great. If they don't, then why worry? I should simply live the life I want to right now."

Arata and Isamu stood in silence, contemplating. To Arata, it didn't matter too much, after all, from the beginning they didn't have a goal and joining Isamu simply meant going back to his old job. Plus, he suffered a one-sided defeat at the hands of that animal-like man, Wolf. After a long time he finally felt frustration again and he wanted to battle against Wolf again and settle the score. That was the main reason he started his daily training again.

Isamu sighed, "Well, that is also true. Where the money flows, there mercenary goes, or so they say. Hehe, alright then... As the leader of the Thunderwolf group I offi-"

"Wait!" Arata called out. He knew what Isamu wanted to say, but he stopped him. Isamu frowned, they were joining his group so why were they unsatisfied? But Isamu and Akira quickly realized the reason Arata stopped his words. Isamu was the leader of the group, true, but now things were changing. Isamu himself asked for them to join their group, but that doesn't mean they will be a part of it forever. Plus, Isamu was the original leader, but with the addition of Arata and Akira his position surely dropped. Arata was definitely stronger than Isamu and Akira was not only stronger, he was even better at coming up with strategies, so how could they become Isamu's underlings and start receiving orders from him?

Isamu was charismatic, had a good relationship with the soldiers, he was good with a sword and he was experienced in battle, but that was not enough for Akira and Arata to become his underlings. At this point Isamu put on a thoughtful expression, "Then... Do you have any ideas?"

Arata shrugged, "I'm not really interested in authority or anything, but I just feel like the current setup is not right."

Isamu's brain started working. Arata was obviously not interested in authority, he could tell from interacting with him for a while. Meanwhile, Akira was stronger than him and he was better at strategizing, but he couldn't simply give him leadership. There was simply too many problems with that idea. However, he was also neither power-hungry, neither he liked to hold on to authority too tightly. If people asked about Isamu, then they would all say he was an easy-going person that could easily adapt and he simply liked to mess around. As he looked at the group, although he thought it was a pity, he also saw this as a chance.

"How about this? What if I disband the Thunderwolves and we create a new group? Now that I think about it, we all have our flaws, but if we all hold some part of authority in the group, we can cover each other and become very strong." Akira and Arata were surprised by how easily he suggested this idea and their opinion of him increased. Obviously this man was only interested in increasing his chances of living at the end of the day and he wasn't interested too much in holding authority over others.

Isamu then extended a finger Arata, "You! You are obviously strong and are good at following orders, which makes you a first-rate frontliner. With you in the middle of the battle, you could protect our soldiers and be an inspiration to them." he then extended a finger to himself, "I know I am not very strong in combat, nor can I come up with great strategies, but I am confident in controlling those soldiers." Akira and Arata both nodded their heads. It was true that Isamu's greatest quality was his charisma. He wasn't corrupted by authority and he could easily interact with people. The soldiers were relaxed around him, yet when it comes to battle, he becomes strict and commanding.

This kind of change between a general on the battlefield and a friend outside the battlefield makes the soldiers truly respect him. He then pointed his finger at Akira, "You are strong, but not frontline material. Neither are you charismatic, but you have a good head on your shoulders and you can quickly think up of various plans. If we fuse Arata's strength, my leadership and Akira's brain, then we can obviously have great success in leading this new group."

It was a good idea. With this kind of structure, the three would be on equal grounds and hold the same amount of authority, while basically doing what they do best and what they liked, without restricting neither. Arata could focus on training and battling, Isamu would continue commanding the troops and Akira would be in the rear as the brains. Even in the soldier's eyes the group wouldn't change, plus they already knew about Arata and Akira, so they wouldn't mind either way, which ends up beneficial to everyone.

The group agreed to the proposal and this day would be written in history as the day a new mercenary group came to be. The mercenary group, which began to cut their way to victory and peace on the continent. The group's name was Hinode.

"Excuse us, could we also join your group?" The three were happy, but when they heard a voice they turned around. To their surprise it was just a villager. All of them were confused and Isamu took his position as the representative of the group and went forward, "Come in, what can we do for you?"

The villager walked inside and the group was further surprised when even more villagers followed him. The leader was holding his hat between his hands, twisting it, "I was wondering if we could join your group?"

Isamu's eyes widened, "You... You want to join our group?" He asked, confused.

The villager nodded, "The village sustained damage and my house was destroyed. Right now I am living on my savings, but that won't last me for long. I simply don't have enough money to build a new house and to repair my store, while getting enough products to sell. At this rate I will be ruined, so I want to join you guys."

Isamu winced slightly. The villager didn't hold any anger or animosity towards them, but after being told their home was destroyed he felt responsible, because the villagers were paying them for protection. The villager sensed Isamu's state and smiled helplessly, "Don't take it too harshly. Nobody is blaming you guys, after all, even we didn't suspect Mikado. He was always a kind person, so we all trusted him. We saw you guys fight against the bandits and shed blood, plus you even helped repair the village, we are already grateful. But still, we can't help but ask if you could accept us into your group."

Isamu appeared troubled as he couldn't come to a decision. On one hand he could increase the group's numbers again, on the other hand, these guys were already 30 and older. They would have to undergo training and they would have to buy equipment for them. His group had saved up a lot of money, but he was planning on resting for a bit and getting used to the smaller group, but this kind of option appeared now. His eyes widened as he remembered he wasn't the only leader now and turned to Akira and Arata, wanting to hear their opinions. Looking at this, Arata also had some hesitation. After all, it was easy to teach a young dog new tricks, but to help the villagers overcome their weaknesses and teach them battle would be difficult.

"Lets accept them..." Everyone turned and saw Akira standing with a thinking look on his face, obviously his mind was spinning very fast. As he looked over the villagers and thought of their own situation he couldn't help but think of an idea. It was slightly crazy, but he believed it was a good one, he then looked at Arata and Isamu, his eyes shinning even brighter, making them gulp their saliva as they got a bad felling. After a while, the youth who had hair as bright and beautiful as the sunrise, whose eyes was beautiful and clear like the boundless sky and his skin white showed everyone a dazzling and radiant smile that could send the winter packing. However, everyone only thought that the smile was far too bright and they had a bad premonition.

...

Slowly a month passed by. The new mercenary group, Hinode, was out on the border of Earth Country, organizing their group, training their new recruits. With three leaders, they should have brought out each others strengths, but the question was, how should they split up their responsibilities?

After thinking it over for a month, they finally made some progress and divided the authority: Arata was the main frontliner. He was a super soldier, who was strong, experienced and could adapt on his own on the battlefield, thats why he had the least amount of responsibilities. His job was to train, be strong and later on, he would be assigned the best men of their current group. What Arata currently needed was capable people, who could listen to orders and keep up with his pace on the battlefield, thats why Arata's job was to be the leader of a small, elite unit. He was basically like the royal guard of their group, being their strongest force.

Isamu's position didn't change from the previous one. He would be the figurehead of the group. He would be the one accepting the missions, he was the one interacting with the troops, he was the main commander of the battlefield, leading and inspiring the soldiers. Thats why his job was to mainly command and overlook the troops, keeping them in line and satisfied.

Akira was the brains, so he was dealing with everything information-related. He dealt with the logistics mainly. He would keep track of the state of their equipment, of their food and herb stocks and he would record all the information about the members of the group. He would also calculate their expenditure and plan out their jobs to maximize their income. Seeing Akira rush around the camp like a hurricane while recording and calculating everything with such speed and precision actually left many with their eyes wide open.

For the entire month the group was staying at the border, training the new recruits and if simple jobs appeared in a nearby village, a few men would go out to complete them and earn some extra income. The one overseeing the training was Isamu, but everyone knew that it was Akira who developed it

While in Takeshi's home, Akira found out about the existence of sealing scrolls, scrolls meant to keep large amounts of objects inside of them, so Akira used the oppportunity and took all of Takeshi's library, medicine stock and tools with him. He then started reading over all the books, gaining new knowledge, while also experimenting with new types of combat and continuing with his chakra control and strength training.

The sun was already in the sky, there were no clouds, a refreshing breeze was coming and going and Arata was sprawled on the ground. For the entire month Akira took Arata's and Isamu's training into his own hand. Currently, Arata was on the ground, his nose bloody and his eyes wide open, "Why?" was all he could ask. For the entire month he sparred against Akira and received instructions from him. And yet. And yet... He couldn't beat him at all.

He used his superior strength, Akira used his chakra to overpower him. He used his longer reach, Akira used his greater speed. He used his techniques, Akira used jutsu. Plus, combined with Akira's amazing battle instinct and the fact that he had no experience fighting ninjas, he just couldn't beat Akira. The gap was also widening and he couldn't catch up.

At this point Isamu came into the training grounds and when he saw Arata sprawled on the ground, disbelief on his face, he sent a sympathetic looks his way. He had been in that position many times during the month so he knew how vexed Arata should be feeling, because no matter what they did, they simply couldn't defeat Akira.

Akira then turned to him with a smile on his face. Isamu noted that for the past month this young man was smilling more than he should have, obviosly enjoying himself too much. Training and improving was naturally a good thing, but when all they received was hell-like training which left even the veterans on the ground, everyone became fearful of this young and dazzling man. All the more so, because while doing this training he always had that smile on his face, seeming more like his age than ever before.

Isamu shuddered slightly, but then he saw Akira's gaze land on him and his body went stiff, "How is the training going?" Akira asked calmly.

Isamu grinned, "Great, it is progressing faster than I thought. We should be able to finish early, so we will have more time to find an easier job for the newbies."

Akira nodded, but didn't tell him that this was merely the beginning. His plan was a long-term one, so there is no way it could be finished in just a month. It only meant that the new recruits had more potential than he thought. Isamu then turned and saw Arata stand up with an unyielding expression in his eyes and and smiled, "Still not done?" He asked.

Arata sighed, "This is a good chance to improve myself, why would I be done?" he asked. Though no one knew was that the reason why he was so persistent was Wolf. Being frustrated by not being able to beat Akira was merely half the reason. If they were tracking Mikado, then he would obviously see Wolf again, and then, he wanted to get some payback.

Akira chuckled, "Yes, yes, motivation is good." He smiled like a small child, who found his new favourite activity and couldn't get enough of it.

Akira then sighed as he looked up to the sky, "Our finances are running low and we are slowly running out of time. I suppose I can't put it off any longer." He said inside his head. The reason for such harsh training was so that the men would become strong and increase their chances of survival, but no one knew that this was merely the beginning. Akira wanted to instill some discipline and to build a foundation for them, but he knew that he was slowly running out of time and at this rate, even if he were to meet Mikado again, he had no confidence in beating him, so he knew he couldn't take his sweet time.

Akira then turned to Isamu and put on his dazzling smile, "Well, I think its about time we went on to stage 2 of our training... Ninja arts" Akira calmly declared, yet this declaration left Arata and Isamu shocked, obviously not expecting this.

But before they could compose themselves Akira's smile brightened, "I obviously can't teach everyone alone, so I suppose I will start with you guys. You will be the first ones to learn and you will help me to pass on the training to the rest of the men. Now then, you guys should prepare yourself for the super fun training course I came up with "How to be a ninja in less than 5 minutes"" His smile was bright. Too bright. That dazzling smile didn't seem beautiful, it only left the two men trembling as they could already guess the hell they will go through.

Ninja training, that was Akira's goal all along. As he thought about it, he couldn't help but become pleased with the idea. Imagine, a force of 20 mercenaries all with ninja training. Running faster than horses, jumping over high walls, strength unmatched. Who could stop them? Obviously they couldn't take over a country, but among mercenaries they would become the best and no bandits could stop them. That was Akira's plan. Stage 1, was to merely increase their unity and feelings of friendship through hardship, to instill discipline into them and give them a foundation in combat.

The reason he first started training with Arata and Isamu was also all planned out. As the leaders, he wanted them to be the most powerful, able to put down all arrogant thoughts and keep their men in line. Once they start ninja training, thoughts of superiority and arrogance would slowly emerge, that is why it is necessary to put a leash on the men to keep those thoughts from running rampant and the best leash would obviously be the commander. If everyone received equal training, then they wouldn't be "amazing ninjas" they would only become "Regular members in New Dawn" and they would soon learn that their leaders are strong and that their strength was nothing to flaunt.

Akira also realized that one month of normal training wasn't much, but their time was limited and he could only hope that their normal abilities will become further refined through actual combat. So, without further ado, Akira smiled and slowly made his way towards Arata and Isamu, who pretended to be calm, yet you could see their throats moving up and down, swallowing saliva, some beads of sweat forming on their faces. Akira only chuckled seeing this.

...

A week later, Akira was sitting in his small tent, reviewing his documents with slight frown and finally released a sigh, "Looks like the time is over. Its time to head out."

Akira looked up as Isamu walked inside the tent with a view pieces of paper, "Hey there, I have a job for us." Isamu said.

Akira smiled, however, didn't notice Isamu's lack of usual enthusiasm, "Then I suppose its time to give the men a taste of real battle..."

Chapter end

 **A new arc, a new beginning. Thank you guys for posting reviews on my earlier chapters. Receiving such feedback had me smilling like an idiot for a while and it really increased my motivation. I will try my best to not let you guys down and increase the quality of my work :)**

 **Thank you for reading this chapter, leave a review with your opinion in it, criticism is also welcome. Have a good day! Toodles!**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer - I own nothing.

 **Short Author's Note:**

 **Hello, just a quick note. One of you guys recently pointed out that the group name New Dawn is just too similar to Akatsuki (Dawn). Thank you a lot for pointing that out, I had honestly forgotten the true meaning of the name Akatsuki, so I didn't put much thought into it as I thought New Dawn would match the theme of the story. Anyways, hennessyswagg83, thank you for pointing this out and even giving a suggestion for a new group name "Hinode". Thats why from now on the group name will change: New Dawn - Hinode (Sunrise). This is why I like reading your reviews as sometimes I miss details like this and you guys give good suggestions. If you feel like I am missing something, then please do point it out. Anyways, have fun reading this chapter :)**

Chapter 8: A new mission

After a long period of training the group was now starting to run low on finances so they decided that its time to finally head out and let the new recruits get some real experience. After a month the men stood with their back straight and they were revealing an aura of confidence. Akira looked over the men and nodded. The group had gathered together and Isamu, as the main commander, started revealing the mission's contents.

The group received reports that in the Land of Fire there was a shady organization moving about and conducting illegal business, mainly specializing in slavery. Apparently, the group was constantly moving around and now they just finished moving and were going to stay in the Land of Fire for a while. Because Hinode was on Earth country's border, they could quickly make their way towards the bandits and start investigating and then decide how to deal with. With a final confirmation the group packed their things and moved out, towards the country of Fire.

...

"Alright, guys, set up the tents. This will be our main base for this mission, so start unpacking. Hey, you! Those supplies go over there, what are you doing?" Isamu started shouting out orders as soon as the group arrived in the Land of Fire. The group was unpacking their stuff and they were starting to get ready to finally go and investigate the suspicious group.

"..." Akira stood in the middle of his tent in silence, reviewing the reports that they were given along with the mission.

Arata then also moved into the tent, "Whats wrong?" He asked.

Akira looked over the reports and shook his head, "Nothing much... I was just thinking that these reports are already outdated so we will have to go get some new information."

Isamu then walked inside the tent, "There is a village nearby, they should definitely have some information. As soon as the men are done I will head out."

Akira was a little surprised by how serious Isamu was, "Its fine, you can stay and look after the camp." He said.

Isamu shook his head, "Would you guys even know where to begin looking? Just leave it to me." By now even Arata noticed Isamu's strange insistence and looked at Akira who shrugged.

"Well, fine, I suppose. I will head out with you then, it will be a lot easier for me to hear it myself rather than wait for you to come back." Akira said quietly, he then looked at Arata, "We still need someone to look after the camp, so I guess you will be in charge while we are gone."

Arata and Isamu both nodded their heads. Arata then glanced at the reports, "So what do we know about that organization so far?" He asked.

Akira shrugged, "The Blood Hounds, a bunch of scum bandits who mainly deal in slavery. However, some people have noted that its weird, because these guys seem to be rather bold and they are too organized, so there is some speculation that they have friends in the shadows.

Arata nodded his head, "Anything else?"

Akira shook his head, "All it says is that their main targets are lower class citizens. Nothing much else."

Arata put a hand to his chin, "In other words, they aren't really strong, otherwise they would kidnapp more people. The fact that they target only those kinds of people means they can't really deal with trouble if it comes."

Akira nodded his head, "Still, they are bold, organized and the fact that they disappear for various lengths of times make people believe that they are a branch of some bigger organization. We should be a little cautious."

Isamu then snorted, "Either way, they won't be existing for long. Lets go to the village." He then turned around and walked out of the tent.

Akira was slightly confused, as was Arata, but both men could only shrug their shoulders and go do their own thing.

...

Inside the village Akira followed behind Isamu, confused by his serious appearance, "Everything alright?" Akira asked.

Isamu glanced behind him, "I'm fine."

Akira raised one eyebrow, "No matter how I look at it, you are far from fine. You look agitated."

Isamu then stopped in his tracks, but then continued on his way, "Stop reading so much into me. It's just that I have a brief history with these... Scum. The faster we can wipe out those scum, the happier I will be."

Akira nodded his head and didn't say anything else. This was obviously a sensitive subject for Isamu and he didn't want to pry too much, so he decided to change the topic, "So what is our destination?"

Isamu then looked at the buildings around him, "The nearest bar."

Akira raised one eyebrow again, "Bar? Its daytime."

Isamu then slightly smirked, "So I suppose even you have things you don't know or can't do."

Akira seemed slightly annoyed by the statement, but continued listening, "Many people won't talk about this kind of thing in the open. Only mercenaries or rogue ninja, who gather in bars during the nightime have discussions about bandit gangs. The bar is a good place to let out some steam, form some connections and share information with other mercenaries, so during the night a lot of information goes around the bar and the person who hears the most is...?" He left the question hanging as he looked back at Akira.

Realization came to him and Akira finished the sentence, "The bartender."

Isamu nodded his head as he continued looking around for the nearest bar. The two men were walking around the village when to their surprise they heard a loud crash and shouting. They turned a corner and noticed that said crash and shouting all came from an establishment named, "The Admiral's Arms". The two men, curious, walked to the establishment and went inside.

As soon as Akira stepped one foot inside the establishment, he ducked his head to the side as a chair flew by him, "What the hell do you mean, "This kind of thing isn't for little brats to meddle in, huh? Come on, say it to my face!" The shout of a young girl came from the front.

Both men stood there looking at the scene before them, stupefied. Before them were four figures. Three of them were garbed in leather armour and looked tough and intimidating, they were mercenaries, however, two of them were on the ground, holding their bleeding heads, while the third one faced of against the last figure. Fights weren't such an uncommon thing in bars, but what surprised Akira and Isamu was that the last figure was very short and petite. It was even shorter than Akira, yet she stood defiantly against the third mercenary.

That figure was a girl, about the age of 13 or so, however, no matter how one looked at it, the girl was the one who was far more dangerous than the three mercenaries. The girl had long dark blue hair that went down till the middle of her back. The left side of her hair was tucked behind her ear and the right side was neatly combed to the right. The girl wore black denim shorts, a black sleveless shirt, blue sandals and a grey coat on top. Finally, in her left earlobe there was an earing, depicting two animals chasing each other.

Judging by the high quality materials of her clothes and her bearing, she was obviously from a rich family... And yet, the girl gave off a fierce atmosphere, like a tiger ready to bite someone's head off. She stood before the mercenary, her arms crossed in front of her chest, a sneer on her face and a cold expression in her eyes. The girl was the tomboy type, had an explosive temper and the strength to back it up.

Looking at the mercenaries she spat at the ground, "Damn, you dare to call me a little brat, yet you idiots can barely take a punch. Che, whatever, I am getting out of here." She then turned towards the hidding bartender and threw a small pouch of money, paying for the things she broke and then turned to walk out of the door.

As she turned around, she finally noticed Akira and Isamu looking at her, dumbfounded expressions on their faces. When she saw Akira, her anger turned to surprise and she did a double take, yet after seeing his dumbfounded expression she sneered, "What the hell are you looking at? What, you want to call me a little brat, too?" She asked.

Akira quickly composed his expression and shook his head with an amiable smile on his face, "How could I?"

The girl then humphed and walked out of the bar. There was silence for a few moments, but then the third mercenary started picking up his comrades and then headed out. Isamu walked towards the counter with his back towards the bartender, watching the exit with a surprised expression. Once he got near the counter he turned towards the bartender and pointed his thumb towards the exit, "What was that all about?"

The bartender finally went out of his hidding spot and sighed helplessly, "Don't ask..." The bartender said as he looked around at the broken chairs and tables, then with a sigh turned around and started pouring himself a drink with a tired expression.

Isamu nodded his head, "I know its a rather awkward time right now, but I was wondering if we could get some information." He said as he put some money on the counter, looking at the bartender with a serious and confident look.

The bartender looked at the money, then looked at Isamu. His eyes then slid past Isamu and landed on Akira, who was still glancing around the bar and was slightly surprised by the young man's appearance, but was brought back to reality when Isamu cleared his throat. The bartender finally gave one weary glance towards the money, "Depends on what you want to know. I don't have a perfect memory, so its not like I can remember everything you mercenaries talk about."

Isamu nodded, "I want to hear about The Blood Hounds."

The bartender's eyes widened, "Again?"

Isamu raised an eyebrow, "Again?" He repeated the bartender's words.

The bartender sighed, "You guys are the second ones today. The first one was the lady you just saw."

Isamu coughed in his hand awkwardly, "I can assure you, we are a lot friendlier than her, you don't have to worry about us trashing this place."

The bartender drank a glass of whiskey in one go and suppressed a shudder. He then took the money and sighed, "Lets see... From what I hear, those guys are based in the north, in an abandoned village that they fortified. Those guys come and go at the surrounding villages and someone noticed that from time to time one or two homeless people or orhpans would disappear."

Isamu nodded, "Anything more specific about them?"

The bartender shook his head, "They work in small groups to scout, once they set their eyes on a target, the person disappears. At least thats what I hear. All I know for sure is that they deal in slavery and that they are based in the north. The rest are just rumours and gossip of drunkards."

Isamu nodded his head and thanked the bartender, however both men were surprised when Akira finally spoke up, "Did you hear any special rumours about them? Something like them having friends in the shadows?"

The bartender looked at Akira and then at Isamu, after thinking it over he shrugged, "Nothing concrete. All there is, is mere speculations and guesses."

Akira probbed further, "Anything is fine."

The bartender then started digging through his memory, "Well, some people noticed that once they move from place to place they tend to disappear for a while. People think its because they go back to some kind of organization to drop off the slaves and then plan their next move. Though its nothing but speculation, there is no evidence or anything. Also..."

Akira was surprised that there is more and listened intently, "Its also nothing but a rumour, but they say that these bandits are quite the hoarders. They like to buy and steal items that have something to do with ninjas."

Akira's eyebrows shot up, "They have ninjas among them?" He asked.

The bartender shook his head, "I don't know, its simply rumours, after all. Those guys act like regular bandits and no ninjas have ever appeared among them, so people guess is that they sell off these ninja items to the highest bidder. Others say, that their true leader is a powerful ninja, who is looking to improve himself. There is also rumours that their true leader is a ninja maniac and likes to hoard this kind of stuff. Its nothing but rumours either way."

Akira then smiled kindly and thanked the bartender and both men walked out of the bar.

Isamu then turned to Akira, "What do you think?" He asked.

Akira nodded his head, "The information should be correct. It more or less coincides with the report we had. Also, he has no reason to lie. If the bandits kidnapp people, then less people would travel around the village and his business would suffer, so its in his intrest that the bandits disappear."

Isamu nodded his head, "So what is our next plan of action?" He asked as his gaze sharpened.

Akira noted that Isamu was very eagier to wipe out the bandits, but he didn't want to rush it, because there was a big chance they have friends in the shadows, so he first wanted to scout them out, "Well... First things first, we will station some men in the village to keep an eye out for the scouting party. I will head out towards that abandoned village to check on the sitation there tonight. We will then continue planning our attack tomorrow, once we have more information on them."

Isamu nodded his head and then the two returned to their base. They told everything they to Arata and then the group started their own plans. Isamu would send out several people in the surrounding villages to keep an eye out for the scouting parties, meanwhile, Arata and Akira would go to the bandit camp to scout it out. Akira's abilities were extraordinary, so he would have no problem scouting out and Arata had always acted as a scout back in the old mercenary group, so he was far more experienced and now, after some training, he was even better.

The group quickly divided their jobs and scattered into the night.

It took Arata and Akira just about 2 hours to arrive near the abandoned village. The two men stood in the bushes, observing the place. As said previously, it was abandoned so it was filled with houses that were either collapsed or very close to collapsing, however, you could clearly see torches and fires burning in the village and patrols walking around. There was a makeshift fence around the small village, blocking out intruders and some bigger buildings were repaired a little, so they would stand long enough for the bandits.

Akira then turned to Arata, "So, what do we do?" He asked. Akira was by no means arrogant. Although he realized he was very talented, he knew he had no experience in scouting, so it was better to listen to Arata, who had a lot of experience.

Arata then looked around the camp and said quietly, "Its best not to approach too close at first. You never know what their main routes are, so you can be spotted, plus, they may have a ninja in the base, so most of the time, you observe from a bigger distance and then you slowly close in."

Akira nodded, "What are we looking for?"

"We are mainly looking at the state of their equipment, their main patrol routes, positions and trying to figure out the key buildings in their camps. Most of the time the key buildings are heavily guarded, in comparison to other locations, so if we figure them out, we can determine our priorities once we attack the camp. Also, Its best to get at least an estimate of their numbers." Arata calmly explained.

Akira nodded his head. Arata then looked around the camp and then turned to Akira, "It seems that the bartender was telling the truth, most of the bandits are out at night, we can close in a little."

Akira raised his eyebrows and looked at the camp, "Out? Look at how many are patrolling the area. With this many, I would say they are paranoid."

Arata shook his head, "That's precisely it. Right now, most of their men are out, so they have to send the rest on patrol, to make sure no one causes trouble while they are at their weakest, while also putting up a false front to scare away people. Many bandits are patrolling , but my guess is that these are all the bandits that are currently in the camp. If you look at the buildings, you will see that although many men are patrolling, the surroundings are rather quiet and the lights are off in most places. You just have to look for the signs."

Realization came to Akira and then both men started closing in on the camp, quietly observing and recording the information. The two men finally got close enough and Arata raised one hand to stop Akira from moving further, "This should be close enough. Right now, just note down any information that could be used for us to gain the upper hand, thats all."

Akira nodded his head, but then an idea came to his head, "Say, do you think I could sneak into their camp?" he asked.

Arata raised his eyebrows and seriously thought it over, but eventually shook his head, "Too dangerous. I don't know how ninja scouts operate, but I think its more or less the same. At first they become familiar with the patrols in the camp and only once they memorized the timings and routes, then they try to sneak in."

Akira nodded his head, "Makes sense, but still, if most of their members are out, I have a very high chance to sneak in and confirm their real situation. These guys are mainly looking around on the ground and they are not prepared againt a ninja inflitration, so if I use the rooftops, I can get past them. Plus, if what you said is true, then the buildings should be mostly empty."

Arata furrowed his eyebrows and thought it over, looking at the patrol routes. What Akira said was true, if he used the rooftops, the bandits wouldn't expect it and most buildings should be empty, so perhaps they can get some accurate information on them. After a few minutes of weighing the pros and cons he extended one hand towards a rooftop, "The bandits are mostly concentrated towards the village center, so if you use the west entrance, circle around towards the north and slowly approach from there, that should be your best bet."

Akira was pleasantly surprised that Arata trusted him and smiled, but then Arata turned a stern look at him, "If you get spotted, only pretend you ran out of the village and try to disappear from their line of sight near the west entrance, then go back and leave through the east entrance. Don't try to check on their situation, they will surely immediately send people to check on their stuff and set up some guards. Quietly leave and return here. I will watch from here and react accordingly."

Akira nodded his head and then slowly made his way towards the village. It took some time, but he finally managed to enter through the west entrance and, just like Arata pointed out, he circled his way around towards the north and from there he silently made his way accros the rooftops. Most bandits were only looking at the buildings and at the alleyways, while very few would send a bored glance towards the sky.

Without being spotted Akira slowly closed in on the center of the village and he saw several buildings that were being used. One building was the smallest, yet it looked the best, that should have been the place where the leader stayed. Then there was a warehouse not far from there. If Akira guessed right, the slaves should be held there. There was also a single building where the lights were on, but it was strangely quiet. What made Akira have a strange feeling about the place, was that although it was small and didn't appear to serve a purpose, the bandits were obviously paying attention to the house.

As Akira approached the center, he was surprised that there was a faint smell of blood in the air. As he got closer and saw some torches illuminate the streets, he saw a few traces of blood here and there and that a few of the patrols actually had a bandage on their arms or their cheeks and a few had broken noses. Akira couldn't help but grow suspicious as he glanced at the single building with the light.

After a moment of thought he decided that as his first target and slowly approached the building. A guard was standing in front of the door and Akira stood in the shadows, observing his surroundings. After planning his approach, Akira threw a rock behind the bandit, forcing him to look behind him, while Akira landed on the side of the building, like a spider. He then saw the bandit look around, but not seeing anything for a while he went back to his position, but this time he was cautiously looking around.

Too bad for him, but Akira was near the second floor window, straight above the bandit. Just as he was pondering on what to do, Akira heard some sounds coming from the building and saw two bandits walk out while loudly cursing and then they started talking to the guard.

Akira decided to ignore these guys and not take any chances so he opened the window next to him and slowly went inside. His foot landed on the boards and the old wooden boards released a creaking sound. Akira frowned and decided to even use chakra to control his movements better and slowly looked around the room. This was a private room of some bandit, obviously, someone was staying here, but currently said bandit wasn't here.

Inside he found nothing of value, so he quickly left and started checking around the house, but to his surprise he didn't find anything special about it. Whether its the first or second floor, Akira just couldn't see anything that would make the bandits pay attention to it and even station several men around the house. Akira's eyes then widened as he heard a soft moan inside the house. It was very quiet and if someone was whispering or if any other sound were to be heard, he would have missed it, but he was alone right now and all his senses were on edge, so he clearly heard it.

Akira's eyes dangerously narrowed and he turned from a thief sneaking around the house to a tiger stalking its prey from the shadows. Akira then looked around and saw a door on the first floor, that should lead to the basement, according to his guess.

He then quietly looked around and after confirming that no one was inside the house, he slowly made his way towards the door and like he guessed, there was a staircase down. With soft steps, like a feather flying in the air, Akira made his way down to the basement and after looking around his eyes widened.

In front of him, there was a person tied to a chair. The person was bloody and unconcious, obviously the bandits treated this person roughly. But what surprised him was that he had seen this person before. It was none other than the young girl from the bar, who was also looking into this group and later on beat up three mercenaries.

Right now that girl was sitting tied to a chair, bloody and unconcious. Two bandits stood before her, cursing silently, "Damn, this fucking girl. No matter what we do, she won't tell us what organization she belongs to. What do we do?"

The second bandit sneered, obvously he was already at his limit, "I say she needs some fear in her. The little lady should realize that in life there are worse things than a beating and sometimes even death is a prefferable option."

He then looked at the young girl and grinned, "Leave it to me, I'll scare her pants off, literally... Hehe." The bandit chuckled.

The first bandit sighed, "Hey, hey, she is high quality. We shouldn't damage her too much, otherwise the boss might be dissatisfied."

The other bandit shrugged, "We only need to scare her. No matter how tough she is, even she should be scared witless by the idea of rape. That should quickly get her to spill the beans."

The first bandit chuckled, "Well, whatever, make sure to not fail. We don't want to damage her anymore, otherwise the price will really drop and it will make all these injuries for nothing."

THe second bandit grimaced, "True... Shit, just what is this little girl. She popped out of nowhere and she fights like a mad dog, talking some bullshit about some scrolls."

The first bandit shook his head, "Does it matter? While she is knocked out, there is no point in staying here, I am going to get something to drink. You stay here, later on we switch."

The two bandits traded some words and one of the bandits went upstairs, not noticing Akira hiding behind the boxes. After the small converstation he mostly understood the situation. This young lady was after something these bandits had and tried to sneak inside the camp to get it. Unfortunately, she slipped up and was spotted, forcing her to engage in a fight, which she eventually lost. In the end she was captured and the bandits realized she was a ninja, so they interrogated her a little, trying to figure out which organization she belongs to, but from what Akira has seen, the little lady was working alone, so no matter what she said, the bandits would probably think she is lying.

Akira stood there observing the beat up young girl. After a moment of thought, he slowly walked out of the darkness and stalked towards the remaining bandit. The bandit was glaring at the lady with an annoyed expression, but eventually decided to get some rest, so he turned around, wanting to go sit down on the boxes, but once he turned around, to his surprise, right in front of him stood a young man.

The young man's height came up to his chin and he was extraordinarily handsome. With hair like the brighest sunrise, eyes like a clear sky and milky white skin he stood before him. And yet, the bandit was terrified as he realized that even though the young man stood before him, it was like he was a ghost, he couldn't feel the young man's pressence at all. However, before he could call out, the young man brought together his middle and index fingers and a blue haze formed at the tips of the two fingers.

With mind-blowing speed the young man moved like a phantom and unleashed a dozen strikes with those two fingers in what felt like a second and hit a bunch of random points on his body, yet when the bandit came to his senses, he couldn't let out a sound and, as foam formed around his mouth, he collapsed.

"Good thing I read Takeshi's book, it seems like those acupoints are really useful... Now then." Akira quietly said as he turned to the young lady.

Chapter end

 **This is the end for today! Another chapter done, another step forward has been taken. Yay! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Leave a review and let me know what you guys think. I hope to see you guys in the next chapter, bye :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer - I own nothing

Chapter 9: The General

Pain... All she could remember was pain. She was sneaking around the bandits base, trying to find whether the bandits had something that belonged to her, but as she was sneaking on the rooftops, a part of the roof collapsed and she fell down.

The bandits reacted quickly and surrounded her. She wasn't really experienced in group fights, so although she fought and took down a few bandits, a strike from behind knocked her out and all that followed was a painful interrogation. She was a lady, yet those bandits were just too rough and they didn't hold back their punches, angry at her for killing a few comrades and injuring even more. She was only 13, and she had never experienced such a thing as interrogation, so she wanted to cry from the pain and yet she didn't. She couldn't allow herself to show weakness in front of her captors.

As she fell unconcious, she was happy to escape from the pain, but now she felt like she would soon wake up. But she was scared. She didn't want to wake up, she didn't want to experience the pain. She had spent a few month travelling alone and heard all sorts of stories of what happens if pretty girls become captives. Although she put on a strong front, in truth, she was terrified and she regretted leaving her home. There were some problems there, but at least there was no pain.

She wanted to continued sleeping in peace, yet when has reality ever given someone he/she desires? Conciousness returned, but she kept her eyes closed, hoping to avoid the pain even if for a few minutes, "Strange..." The young lady thought.

"This is definitely not the hard wooden chair and this isn't the freezing basement. This... This should be a quilt... A pillow..." Realization came to the lady and she started trembling, the stories came surging back like a tide and she felt her eyes slightly moisten.

"How is the young lady?" Came the mature voice of a young adult.

A soft and pleasant sigh came not far from her, "Her injuries aren't too bad. I did what I could, but I'm not a medic and there is only so much you can learn from books, so we can only see how it goes."

The mature voice let out a sound of confirmation, "You were too reckless back there. Look at yourself, even you have injuries all over." The mature voice reprimanded sternly.

A soft and melodious laughter then came out of the second person, "Well, I got discovered, nothing I could do about it. Either way, it ended with no one dying, so isn't it fine?"

"Healing? Escape?" Hope appeared inside the young lady's mind, but she couldn't help but grow suspicious. What if these guys knew she was awake and were just messing around? And yet, that mature voice carried confidence and when you heard it, you would feel like he was a kind and strong elder brother, who always looks after his younger siblings. And then there was the soft voice. It was calm, soft, melodious and very pleasant to the ear. No matter what, she didn't remember bandits with such voices, so she couldn't help but open a single eye and take a peek.

She opened her eyes and saw that two men were looking at her. In the front stood a man with a gray kimono, pants and black combat boots that came up to his knees. The man had brown hair that was combed to the back and composed and relaxed brown eyes, forming the image of a calm, mature and reliable person.

Her gaze then fell on the man to the side and her eyes widened. The young man wore a light blue kimono, black pants and blue sandals, with his shins tapped off with bandages. The young man had beautiful, flowing red hair and clear blue eyes, "Ahhh.. back then." She remembered seeing the man back at the inn. This handsome young man defintiely left a deep impression on her.

Akira then smiled kindly towards the young lady, "Its alright, calm down, you are safe now. My name is Akira and this is my dear friend, Arata. We are the leaders of the mercenary group called Hinode. At the same night as you, we went to investigate the bandit camp and I snuck in to do some investigation, when I found you captured. It took a bit of fighting, but eventually me and Arata brought you out. This is our main camp, so you don't have to worry about the bandits now."

A third voice came from the outside and a man with a violet headband, black coat with fur some fur on the hood and a black shirt underneath came in. Isamu grinned, "Hey, hey, Akira, whats this I heard? It took a bit of fighting, you say? Shouldn't you puff out your chest and say something heroic, like, I fought through the hoards of bandits all alone, but my sense of justice didn't let me stop, so I eventually cut them all down and brought you out. Wouldn't that sound cooler? Why are you whinning?" Isamu said with a laugh.

Akira also released a small chuckle, "Unfortunately, I am not a heroic person. I don't believe I am meant for the spotlight."

Isamu scowled, "Whats with the old man speech again?" He said as he planted one hand on Akira's hair and ruffled it a bit, " ." He said as he released a small chuckle as Akira pushed away his hand, but Akira didn't seem mad, instead he seemed to be enjoying this kind of relaxed atmoshphere, "I am fine with being the old man of the group. Someone has to look after a small child like yourself, right?"

Isamu released another laugh, "You little brat." He said as he looked over Akira and his eyes widened, "Ooh, Akira, is it just me or have you grown a little?" he asked.

Arata was about to stop the guys, but when he heard Isamu's words he also stopped and looked over Akira from bottom to top and nodded his head, "Seems like it...I haven't even noticed."

Isamu grinned, "Well look at this, our little Akira is growing up. Perhaps we should celebrate your birthday party everytime you grow a little? ... No, I fear the next time will be in 20 years."

This time a tick mark appeared on Akira's forehead, "Hoho, Isamu. You know, its not good to be too tall either, because it seems that your head is in the clouds and you can't even think straight, so you need others to look after you."

Isamu grimaced, but still smirked, "Touche."

Arata tried his best, but eventually couldn't supress it and released chuckle, "Enough." He said in between his chuckles, trying to compose himself.

Isamu smirked, "You are one to talk."

Despite the situation a small smile formed on the young lady's lips, which didn't go unnoticed by Isamu, "Ohhh! She smiled, haha." He released a laugh as he looked at the young lady with a kind look in his eyes, "Anyways, Arata lets go, we should organize the men, let Akira deal with the young lady." Isamu said as he covered his mouth with one hand and his eyebrows started jumping around, as if trying to imply something.

Arata scowled, "What are you thinking, you damn idiot? This is neither the time, nor the place. Move! Move!"

Isamu released a laugh, "There are no barriers in life, only a man's hesitation! Don't stop, walk forward, my son!" He yelled loudly, as Arata kicked him out of the tent with a kick in the butt. He then turned to Akira, "We will organize the men, you talk with the young lady." He then revealed a small and composed smile to the young lady, making her blush slightly, then he left the tent.

The young lady then looked at Akira, "Akira... Was it?" Hearing her call out to him, he put on a kind smile and nodded, "Correct. Can I ask your name, Miss?"

The young lady's eyebrow twitched, "He really is like an old man." She noted in her head as she looked at Akira weirdly, "Akemi. My name is Akemi Kobayashi." Akira nodded his head, the ever-present smile on his face, "Alright, Miss Kobayashi."

A tick mark appeared on Akemi's forehead as she felt like she was back with her grandfather again and couldn't help but look at Akira with a blank look, "Akemi... Just calm me Akemi and drop the miss."

Akira showed some hesitation, but eventually consented, "Alright, Akemi, here's how it all is."

Akira then proceeded to explain the situation. He told her about Hinode, about their mission, how he found her and how, after getting her out of the building, he and Arata fought off the bandits and escaped into the forest, rescuing her.

Akemi nodded her head in understanding and then she noticed that underneath Akira's kimono there were some bandages and she couldn't help but feel grateful and a little bit guilty. After all, he said that they fought off the bandits and escaped, but how was it possible that he escaped with no injuries while carrying her in one hand. He was simply hiding them from her.

"What about you? Why were you sneaking into their base?" Akira asked carefully, making sure it was not a secret to her or something.

Akemi looked wearily at Akira, then she looked at his injuries and eventually she remembered the relaxed and kind atmosphere from a moment ago. It was hard to tell the true nature of people, but if you ever saw a kind person, then you could quickly identify him and her instincts told her that Akira and this group weren't bad people. After a moment she came to a decision and began introducing herself again.

"Akira... Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Akemi Kobayashi and I am the daughter of the Kobayashi clan's leader." She said as she looked into his eyes. However, she realized that he wasn't too surprised, nor did his expression change, making her sigh in relief.

"I can't say I have heard of the Kobayashi clan. I am very sorry." Akira said with an apologetic smile.

Akemi didn't seem offended or surprised, so she made a small introduction, "There is no surprise, after all, it is a rather declined clan. In the past we were very powerful, however, in the recent ages, our clan didn't ally themselves with any villages and our powers weakened, leaving us in this declined state. I left my clan precisely to take back what was stolen from us and to return my clan to its past glory."

Akira nodded his head, thinking that perhaps an artifact or a precious scroll was stolen from their clan, which would then explain Akemi's actions. He understood that she only told him a fraction of the truth, after all, no matter what, he was just a stranger at this point, but he didn't pry any further. Akemi looked seriously into Akira's eyes, but no matter how much she looked his expression was the same. There was no scheeming, there was no careful tip toeing around her to please her. He looked at her just like before, not like at a heiress, but just as Akemi. Seeing this expression, she couldn't help but feel happy.

Akira smiled, "Well then, rest for now, Akemi. We are planning to attack their base sometime soon, so you are more than free to join us and see if your clan's... Object, is in their hands." Akira said as he left the tent and let Akemi rest.

...

Outside Akira and Isamu were ogranizing their group, "You put on that play on purpose, for that young lady." Arata calmly said.

Isamu raised one eyebrow, "Don't know what you are talking about. What, can't I tease our little Akira?" He asked.

Arata then looked straight into his eyes, not saying anything. The kind look Isamu sent towards Akemi at the end didn't go unnoticed by Arata. He simply remained quiet until now so that Akemi wouldn't find out.

In the end Isamu sighed, "Yeah, I did it on purpose. Put in me in jail, I confess."

Arata was slightly surprised, but after a moment, its like he got an idea and only said, "I see... For you, those bandits must disappear. No matter what."

Isamu froze for a second and his serious expression returned, but it was quickly hidden and replaced by a small smile, "Yeah, they must disappear. No matter what." He said as he brought up his hand and adjusted the violet headband on his head and then walked towards a certain group to give them their next orders.

Arata only looked at him with a deep look in his eyes, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking, but the grip on the hilt of his katana tightened, "Arata?" he heard Akira call out from behind.

He turned around and smiled slightly, "Are you finished with the young lady?"

Akira nodded his head, "How are the preparations here?"

Arata then looked around the base, "We are nearing completion. However, are you sure about this?"

Akira nodded his head, "Those guys probably already know where we are and they know that we are a strong group. But at this point they only have two options, either fight against us or run away, however, I don't think they will abandon the slaves they have gathered and run away, thats why the best option is to fight. Considering that behind the operations is someone with a brain, he won't just sit around and wait to be attacked. Since he knows our position and they should have quite a few men, there is a high chance he will ambush us during the night."

Arata nodded his head as he looked around the camp, "Most of the supplies were brought to a safe place and hidden. The men are also getting ready, we will make it before night."

Akira also nodded his head as he looked at Isamu, "Arata... Let Isamu..." Akira stopped as he thought about how to word it, but Arata was a person with a sharp mind, so he already knew, "Yeah, I will hold back a little." Akira nodded, "You should mainly focus on not letting the bandits gain an advantage over our men and maintain an equalibrium. To Isamu, this looks like an important fight, so we should let him defeat these guys. I will move from behind and make sure you guys won't get flanked and I will get rid off all runaways."

Arata nodded his head as he took a deep breath and looked at his katana. The katana he had first received from the captain. This old katana had accompanied him for many years and through countless battlefields. He had swung this swords so much, that he felt like it was a part of him. The grip on his katana tightened. He had endured hellish training for over a month. Although there won't be any substantial results, he knew he was growing stronger and it was time to test it.

He then turned his gaze to Isamu. He looked slightly aloof and easy-going like always, but if you carefully looked at him, you could see that his eyes weren't smilling, they were very serious and his body was tense. Like a drawn bow, ready to release a devastating arrow at any moment.

...

Night time

The time of the monsters and predators. During this time the scariest beasts stalked in the shadows. During this time the monster comes out of your closet or from beneath the bed. During this time countless people would experience horrifying nightmares and many people would never get to see the light of dawn...

A small rustling sound come from the bushes as countless pairs of eyes were staring forward like a pack of predators. The bandit leader grinned as he saw the camp and he drew out his sword, raised it above his head and then lowered it. With a quick dash a big group of people emerged from the bushes, running straight towards the Hinode members.

The bandits were elated. They had the number advantage, they started an ambush. These guys were deadmeat. And yet... Before their eyes a man in a gray kimono appeared, holding an old and simple katana. The katana was slightly dull, showing that it should be brought to a blacksmith and only a blurry light reflected off of it, but at this time, the bandits felt like the katana was like a murderous beast, staring at their souls with those cold, indifferent eyes, silently giving them a death sentence.

Arata dashed forward, his body was enveloped by a barely noticable blue hue, it was like his body was giving off moonlight in this dark night and with a single step and slash, two bandits were cut in half horizontally.

The bandits were surprised by how fast Arata moved and they were about to retaliate, but then they saw that something was wrong. The men who were supposed to be prey were looking at them with those cold eyes. The eyes of a predator, ready to attack at any second. A small blue hue appeared around all the members of the camp and at this point did the bandits realize. They were never the predators. They were rabbits trying to devour a lion and now the lion woke up.

"Form a line!" A serious voice came from a man with a violet headband as he stood in the front. His was voice wasn't loud, but it travelled very far and at his command the Hinode members lined up and drew their swords.

"Charge!" Isamu released a roar as blue hue exploded like a raging monster around him, scattering the dust around him and he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow and clashed with a bandit, taking off his head, then did a spin and took off another bandit's leg. He didn't stop. His eyes were cold and murderous and it was obvious that in Isamu's eyes, all these bandits were already corpses.

Isamu didn't bother looking as a bandit charged from the side, but unfortunately, he was quickly cut down by Arata. It was at this point that the Hinode members jumped forward and, like a pack of wolves, they started a slaughter.

A battle started, no it was a slaughter. Most of the New Dawn members didn't have experience in battle, but over a week was enough for these guys to unlock their chakra, couple that with a month of hell-like training, they could easily overpower a group of bandits who were scared witless and didn't even know proper combat techniques in the first place. This was a good start for them to gain experience in combat and none of them wasted time. Blue hues surrounding their bodies, the men were like ghastly wraiths in the night, with the combat techniques that were instilled into them, they swung their swords cutting down one bandit after another.

Isamu was at the very front. At this point he wasn't the annoying, easy-going elder brother, but a beast that wanted to rip everyone to shreds. With a spin of his katana he parried a blow and then dispatched a bandit, chakra enveloped his legs and he shot forward, landing behind a bandit, whose head flew off his shoulder not a second later. Isamu the spun his sword in his hand, throwing the blood off his sword, making it splash on a bandit's face and said bandit was quickly cut in half from top to bottom.

Three bandits rushed at Isamu, but he didn't panic. Despite how he seemed, he still hasn't lost his head, so he jumped backwards and started blocking one attack after another. He parried one attack, forcing the bandit to clash with the second bandit, with a spin he then turned around and blocked the attack of a third bandit, pushing him away with his chakra-enhanced strength. Isamu then turned around and cut off the leg of one of the hugging bandits, while turning back to the third one and with a slash he left a massive gaping wound on his chest, his sword simply fell to pieces. He then turned back to the first one and side stepped his attack and cut off his head.

He then jumped upwards, landed on a branch in a crouch and gathered as much chakra and strength in his legs as he could, he then lept forward while spinning and became like a blade tornado, going through the bandits and finally stopping. The bandits all started coughing up blood as behind Isamu five bandits fell to the ground, nothing but bloody corpses.

From the back, Arata only looked at Isamu but didn't stop him. It wasn't his fight today, so he held back and simply made sure to save his fellow comrades, making sure that no one in his group died.

In the trees sat Akira and Akemi, both looking at the bloody battle. Akemi slightly frowned at this bloody scene, she was obviously not used to it and she was further surprised by Isamu's viciousness. He gave off the impression of a very kind person when she saw him, yet he was the complete opposite now.

She pointed a finger at Isamu, "Is that alright?"

Akira shook his head, "Not really. He... Has a past here, it seems. I don't really know the specifics, but just for tonight, I suppose we can let him do what he wants."

Akemi nodded her head, "Then, aren't we moving in?" She asked. As a daughter from a clan she wasn't weak. She could sneak into the bandit's camp and only got found out, because a piece of roof fell apart. However, even then, she still took down a few bandits. Declined clan or not, she received ninja training and she wasn't a helpless child and Akira knew that, however, he still shook his head, "Nope."

Akemi frowned, "What are you waiting for?"

Akira glanced at her, "There is a possibility that these bandits have some sort of backing. If they do, then they probably have a trump card hidden. A strong warrior, a bomb, a ninja scroll or an extra force. Doesn't matter what it is. We are reserves for when that comes."

Well, he was the reserve. He was the strongest amongst the Hinode members, so although he wasn't god and there wasn't proof that he could deal with something single handedly, but he could surely hold it off and buy his comrades some time until they can assist him. Basically, he was their shield. For the lady? She was capable, but she was still inexperienced and had some injuries, so he didn't want to put her on the field. In the first place, he let her stay here, because he knew he can't command her and with her tomboyish personallity, she wouldn't stay still, so its best to give her a special mission that would require her to sit still.

Akemi didn't pick up on Akira's small scheeme and nodded her head innocently, "Alright, anyone dares to show up I will shove them underground." Akemi said with a confident smile and a crack of her knuckles.

Akira simply smiled, feeling a bit guilty for tricking her. In truth, the chances of something showing up were small. Even if they did have a reserve force or a powerful warrior, would they really show up when they saw this massacre? Most likely they would cut off their connections here and pretend they don't know them, saving themselves, so acting as a lookout was merely an excuse. The truth was that Akira simply wanted his new members to gain battle experience and what better chance is there than now? Isamu is taking on most of the attention, the bandits are frigthened and Arata is silently protecting them.

He wouldn't move in to save them, because if the members knew Arata was specifically looking after them, then they would grow relaxed and wouldn't take this battle as seriously, so Arata mainly held the line and only interrupted if a new members was truly about to be killed.

At this point, however, the bandit leader howled, "Retreat. Retreat back to the base."

Hearing the order the bandit ranks crumbled and they ran back. At first there was about 50 of them, but now there was only around twenty and they weren't in a good shape. Seeing this, Akira was satisfied with the results. He then turned to Isamu and shouted, "Isamu, regroup the soldiers. Make sure of their condition and move forward." He said loudly.

Isamu wanted to give chase here and now, but he still supressed his desire and did as Akira suggested. He quickly organized the troops and made sure that they can continue moving on. After reorganizing the men, he then started moving forward, towards the base camp of the Blood Hounds.

Chapter End

 **Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, leave a review to let me know what you think. I hope to see you next chapter, bye :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer - I own nothing.

Chapter 10: The ambitions of the young

"Hey, Isamu, what are you looking at?"... "At you, of course!" A grin appeared... A young girl stuck out her tongue, "What is there interesting to see?"

"... You. How could I ever get bored of looking at you?" A young girl slightly blushed and hid her face behind a book, "Stupid Isamu...", "Haha" was followed by a laughter of a young man.

...

"Hey, Isamu! What are you spacing out for?" Arata called out to him.

Isamu trembled as he came back to reality. Arata looked at him and slightly furrowed his brow, "The bandit camp is before us. Don't forget you are the leader here."

Isamu then looked ahead and saw the abandoned village before him. All the bandits were running around like chickens who lost their heads. The bandits quickly retreated to their base and started setting up defences while grouping up all of the men from the patrols. They knew they wouldn't be able to run away, so their best bet was to get together what men were remaining and to engage in a defensive battle. After all, siege battles were always easier for the defenders rather than the attackers.

However, Isamu wasn't putting them in his eyes. He brought up his hand and touched the violet headband on his head and then turned around to the men behind him, "See those bandits behind us? None of them get out alive tonight. They are scum who steal children from their home, they are scum who steal wives from their husbands and they are scum who destroy peace. Tonight, all of it ends. We will end these bastards right here, right now!" Isamu roared.

All the men yelled in unison, "No one leaves alive!"

Isamu then turned around and chakra flared around his body, "Then what are you waiting for?" Isamu took his katana into both hands and was the first one to charge in.

"You are going to take up a guard position in our village?" Came a young girls voice.

A young man beat his chest, "I will be the wall which defends this village. And you." A young man said with a grin.

A young girl smiled slightly, "You don't look very reliable. Last time we met, I was the one saving you."

The young man lightly laughed, "Well... Last time was...Hehe"

The young girl went into another room, only her voice remaining, "Then I will count on you to protect me, brave hero."

Isamu's eyes narrowed while watching those bandits. Seeing those red bandanas a bestial light flashed in his eyes as he roared while approaching the first bandit. With a roar Isamu swung his katana and sent the first bandit falling backwards from his strength. Without stop Isamu then started swinging his katana at the surrounding bandits, taking one life after another.

A sigh came from the forest path, "Arata, I will leave him to you. Look after him, will you?" Akira asked gently while watching Isamu.

Arata nodded, "Leave him to me, what are you going to do?"

Akira looked at the warehouse, "I will sneak behind them and go to the warehouse to make sure they don't take any hostages." Akira then turned to Akemi, "Meanwhile, you can go search for the object you want."

Akemi nodded with a smile, "I will help you out first. I should do at least this much."

Akira smiled, "Its fine, I can take on a bandit or two. You go look for what you need."

Arata, seeing the battle heating up, unsheathed his katana, "Alright, I will leave the hostages to you. But be careful, just in case they have any hidden forces."

Akira nodded his head and the three people separated. Akemi went to search for her own clan's item, Akira dashed towards the warehouse while Arata charged towards the battlefield.

...

Blood spurted on Isamu's face as he cut down another bandit, blocked an attack and pushed away another bandit, before cutting in half a bandit who almost killed his comrade next to him. Another gush of blood spurted on Isamu's jacket from behind.

"Calm down, you are loosing yourself to your emotions." Arata's voice came from behind.

Isamu's hand trembled, "I know. I know... But when I see these bastards..."

Arata sighed, "You won't accomplish your goal if you die here. Go forward, I have your back, but don't forget that there are men following you.", After looking at Isamu, Arata already understood that the reason for Isamu's restlesness must have been a grudge. The man wanted revenge and his target were these bandits. As he also pursued revenge in the past he knew the feeling of rage. He knew how the anger was eating him alive, so Arata decided its best to simply guard Isamu's back instead of trying to restrict him.

"Ironic, in the past I was in Isamu's place and the old captain was in mine. I was charging forward, blinded by rage, while the old captain stood behind me, but now I am the one protecting another person who is doing the same... I just hope his end isn't the same as mine." Arata thought inside his head as he looked at Isamu's back.

Isamu took in a deep breath to calm his raging emotions and clashed with another bandit while proceeding forward, "What are you guys doing? Cut those bastards down already!" A roaring voice came from the back.

Isamu looked up and saw a burly man with a red bandana tied to his bicep. His anger ignited like when a match were to fall on a dry stack of hay, "Arata, guard my back. Guard it tight, because I don't think I can hold back for too long."

Arata also noticed the man. With a light inhale even more chakra surounded Arata as he cut down another bandit and started pushing away the bandits around Isamu, allowing him to go against the leader, "Then go." He said lightly. It was of no use of trying to restrict him. Arata knew that feeling first-hand and seeing the object of his anger before his eyes, it was like trying to restrict a mad dog with a single string of silk. It was just better to let go.

Isamu nodded, his eyes obscured by his hair. He gripped his katana and charged forward, evading the bandits and using chakra he jumped into the air and with a slash he clashed against the bandit leader. The bandit leader, surprised by Isamu's agile movements and high speed was surprised, "Che, so you are the leader."

Isamu's legs landed on the ground and with another burst of chakra he started pushing against the bandit leader, however, to his surprise a blue haze appeared around the bandit leader and he pushed back. The bandit leader grinned as he looked at Isamu, "You bastards keep the attackers occupied. Once I deal with their leader, their morale will fall and we will clean them up."

Isamu clenched his teeth, "Three years ago... Do you remember that village in the Land of Fire?"

The leader arched a single eyebrow, "What nonsesense are you talking about?"

Isamu's teeth clenched even tighter, "Three years ago, the village with the big old oak tree on the outskirts! Do you remember it?"

The leader let out a laugh after a second as realization came to him, "So you are one of those, huh? You came for revenge. Well, who can say, three years is a long time, I can't remember every single village I wiped out."

A bestial glare appeared in Isamu's eyes, "Then go to hell, maybe that will refresh your memories!" Isamu poured even more chakra into his limbs and started pushing the leader back.

Surprised, the leader roared as with a push he jumped back, creating some distance between him and Isamu. However, Isamu wouldn't let him have enough time and charged forward, blade in hand. In a short burst of speed Isamu closed the distance and swung his sword horizontaly, but despite his size, the leader was agile and jumped over the blade. A grin formed on his lips as while descending he smashed down with his sword.

Isamu was slightly surprised but didn't let it last as he rolled to the side, avoiding the attack that smashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. The bandit didn't want to let Isamu regain his bearings and stance, so he charged out of the cloud of dust and swung his sword again. The blades locked together, but Isamu was inferior in strength and was pushed back, his feet sliding back, leaving behind two straigth lines on the ground.

Isamu clenched his teeth as he felt his arms tremble from the pain and, once a shadow appeared over his face, he looked up, seeing the bandit leader before him again. Strangely, Isamu's head cooled down slightly as he looked at the bandit leader's vicious eyes. With an inhale he side stepped the attack and jumped back. After a second Isamu controlled his breathing and regained his stance while looking at the bandit leader, this time his eyes were more composed.

The bandit leader seemed slightly surprised seeing Isamu calm down so quickly, "Hey,hey, did you run out of gas? Was your anger only so much? Then the person I killed probably didn't mean much to you, huh?" The bandit let out a laugh, trying to enrage Isamu again, cloud his judgement.

Isamu looked straight into the leader's eyes, making him feel uncomfortable, "You aren't him." Isamu stated a fact. The leader was slightly surprised, but Isamu only continued, "For three years I chased that bastard, I don't know how he looks, but I heard enough rumours about him. No matter how I look at it, you are not the leader from three years ago. Tell me, where is the previous leader of this gang!" Isamu narrowed his eyes.

The bandit leader seemed surprised but then only a sneer appeared on his face, "Make me." were the only words to come out. Isamu inhaled as his chakra became controlled instead of raging like a wild beast. He then looked at the bandit leader with chilling eyes, "As you wish."

With a burst of speed Isamu charged at the bandit leader. The bandit leader also charged forward and because he was bigger, his reach was also longer so he started a strike against Isamu. Seeing the incoming blade, strangely, Akira's teaching flashed before his eyes.

"Why do you idiots always clash head-on? Why waste the strength and energy? If you can dodge, then dodge, why waste time engaging in power struggles." Akira's clear and calm voice came to him.

Unexpectedly, Isamu then dropped to the ground and slid forward like in a football slide tackle. When he dodged the blow Isamu stopped and jumped to his feet, stabbing with his sword. Blood spurted out as the leader was surprised by Isamu's sudden change in combat style and he didn't dodge in time and his left arm was impaled by Isamu's sword.

The bandit unleashed an enraged roar as he wanted to knee Isamu in the gut, but Isamu used his own feet to stamp down on the leader's and then channeled all his chakra into his limbs and with a spin, painfully tore off the leader's left arm.

The bandit leader roared in pain as his body trembled, his mind became clouded and he didn't know whether to grab his arm, run or continue fighting. However, Isamu wasn't in a merciful mood. A second later even more pain came to the bandit as Isamu quickly cut off his right leg, toppling the leader, while he screamed again.

The leader fell to the ground, dropping his sword and he only held onto his missing left arm. Isamu came forward, stepped on the bandits chest roughly, making him cough and stabbed his katana next to the bandits neck, "Where. Is. The. Previous. Leader?" Isamu asked slowly.

The bandit only looked at Isamu's cold eyes, terrified.

...

"Shit, what do we do? The battle outside is turning for the worse." A bandit's yell came.

"Calm down, if you start panicking then you will surely die. First things first, we need insurance. Lets go to the warehouse to grab some hostages and then we will leave." A bandit said. The other bandit quickly agreed as they both ran towards the warehouse.

Not a second later three kunai flew down, killing one bandit, while Akira landed on the other bandit's shoulders and twisted his neck upside down, then he jumped up and descended to the ground, "In the end, you were the one panicking the most. Did you forget the fierce battle? Did you think anyone would pay attention to a single bandit? You should have just ran." Akira said quietly.

Akira then turned towards the warehouse and with a sigh he boosted his body with chakra and jumped towards the roof. Akira landed on the roof and quietly went inside, landing on a steel beam.

"So, what do we do now?" Came a gruff voice of a man.

"We were told to deal with these idiots either way, we got what we wanted. Though its unexpected that these guys are the ones who came. Do they know or is it just a coincidence? Either way, we should leave before we are spotted" Came the vibrant and lively voice of a young woman.

"Wait, Tsubaki. I think its a little too late for that." From the shadows turned around a vicious looking man. The man had a bare chest, a wild mane of hair and was walking around with bare feet. Along with his aura the man seemed like a wild animal, however, it seemed like it was more than just his looks. The man looked around as he sniffed the air and then turned towards Akira's hidding position with a smile.

"Looks like we have a little rat in here." The man let out a wild laugh, "Come here, little rat, I have some cheese for you. "

Akira knew hidding was pointless so he came out of the shadows, albeit still remaining on the steel beam. As he watched those two Mikado's subordinates, he put on a smile, "It seems we meet again."

Tsubaki, seeing the youth before her, had a bitter look appear on her face, however, she hid it and a very charming smile replaced it, "Hello again, Akira. If I didn't know better, I would say you are stalking me" Tsubaki let out a small chuckle.

Akira smiled amiably, not revealing even a fraction of his true thoughts, "You are a very charming woman. It would be hard for men to resist you."

Tsubaki blushed slightly as she heard an unexpected comment, but quickly hid it, "A smooth talker, I see."

Wolf grinned viciously, "Hey, if you want to mate with him, then go do it quickly, otherwise I will pound him into a pancake right now."

Tsubaki blushed fiercely, "Whats with that vulgar language?" She wanted to go on a rampage and curse the hell out of Wolf, but eventually restrained herself.

Wolf let out a laugh, "Isn't it fine? In the wild, if the animals find someone they like, they do it then and there, they aren't restricted by some petty thoughts."

Tsubaki turned a vicious glare at Wolf, like a demon ready to drag him to hell, "Why the hell do you think I would want to mate with him? How about you shut up already?"

Wolf backed up slightly, "Got it, got it, sheesh women are seriously scarier than any beast in the wild, right, little rat?" He said with a laugh.

Akira only continued standing there with his amiable smile, "I do agree that what you said was a little... Distasteful."

A giant vein bulged on Tsubaki's forehead as her glare intesified and illusionary flames from hell along with the devil appeared behind her, "What do you mean "Distasteful"? Am I so ugly?"

Akira backed up with a small laugh, "A misunderstanding. What I meant was... The wrong time. Yes, right now isn't the time for such things."

Tsubaki sneered at him, however, Wolf let out another laugh, "Well, enough fun and games. We should probably end this, I can hear the battle outside ending slowly."

Akira smirked, "You are both strong. If we were to fight, I wouldn't be able to win, however, do you think you can kill me before my comrades arrive? If so, then please try, if not, then I wonder who will not be leaving this place tonight."

Wolf grinned viciously and was about to put that to the test, but Tsubaki extended her hand. She knew first hand how dangerous Akira seemed despite his innocent appearance. She knew most of her weapons wouldn't work and she would have to mostly relly on Wolf. However, just rellying on him, would he really be able to kill Akira before reinforcements arrive? Her memories flashed back to the 20 men who could use chakra and she realized that if they did arrive, she and Wolf would surely die. They would be able to take out the bigger portion of them, but she was Mikado's ally, not his zealous follower, she had no intention of selflessly sacrificing herself, so she decided to retreat.

She then stared at Akira with a bitter look, "Twice... This is twice that he has humiliated me now... Hmph, just watch how I deal with you in the future." She thought inside her head. She then remembered that she said the exact same words the last time and got even angrier and with a stomp of her feet quickly left.

Wolf, although he wasn't the brightest, had very good instincts and danger perception. He mostly thought along the same lines as Tsubaki, plus, as he stared at Akira his instincts told him that the young man wasn't as simple as he seemed, he only tried to go forward because he had a lot of pride in his strength, but when Tsubaki left, eventually he also decided to drop the matter. He looked Akira up and down and revealed a big toothy grin, "Hey, how is that little tiger holding on?" He asked.

Akira was surprised by the question, "Little tiger?" He asked.

"You know, the strong guy who swings around his sword like a wild tiger." Wolf continued with his grin.

Akira couldn't associate the comparison of a tiger with his current teammates, but once he recalled how Isamu told him abut Arata's fight, he understood that Wolf was talking about Arata. Akira then smiled, "He is doing rather well. Thanks to you he has a lot of motivation to train and it seem like he wants a rematch with you really badly."

Wolf let out a laugh, "Is that so? So the little tiger is sharpening his fangs. Good. Very good. When we meet in the future let me have a go at him, he seems like a fun adversary."

Akira nodded his head, "Yes, until then, do please keep your head on your shoulders. Arata seems interested in it." Wolf wanted to let out a laugh, but when he looked at Akira's eyes he noticed that something was wrong. In the very depths of Akira's eyes a slightly cold light shone for the briefest of moments. It appeared and disappeared like a flickering light, but it was enough to send a cold shiver down Wolf's spine.

He stood in silence, but eventualy a grin formed on his face, "Will do. See ya later..." He said with a laugh and then turned around and left.

Neither side wanted to engage today. Akira had his reinforcements coming, so Tsubaki and Wolf didn't want to die while taking down Akira with them. Meanwhile, Akira knew he didn't have enough strength to stop them at the moment, so he only watched. However, a smile was on his face, as if there was no problems at all. This only meant that his suspicions came true and Mikado was indeed planning something nasty in the dark. Right now, he only moved on from local bandits to more organized and larger groups. Whatever it was, it wasn't good, nor small in scale.

Outside, Tsubaki and Wolf appeared, standing on a branch. Both of them looked back at the warehouse, they had their own thoughts.

"We got spotted. What now?" Wolf asked, a rare serious expression on his face.

Tsubaki shrugged, "Nothing we can do, its not like we could have predicted this flow of events. Lets just report this to Mikado." Tsubaki felt bitter inside about being humiliated twice, but when she glanced at Wolf and saw his serious expression, she raised one eyebrow, "What is it? Its rare for you to frown like that."

Wolf stood there with a frown. It was a truly rare thing and Tsubaki hasn't seen him with such an expression until now. Most of the time he acted like a barbarian and did as he pleased, even while fighting, he seemed to enjoy himself. However, she had never seen him with a frown.

"That little rat... Is no rat." Wolf said slowly.

Tsubaki sneered, "Of course he is not. I fought against him, so I know first-hand that he is not simple."

Wolf shook his head, "I saw something appear in his eyes and I got this strange feeling..."

Tsubaki was surprised. She always thought that Wolf was stupid, but she respected him because of his strength and instinct.

"That rat... Is no rat, he is a monster." Wolf said with a solemn expression.

Tsubaki shivered seeing the solemn and serious aura around Wolf. Eventually she let out a small laugh, "You said the same thing about Mikado."

Wolf shook his head, "They're different. Mikado was a human, but he got twisted and turned into a monster after he was abandoned. Mikado is a monster born from hate and malice. That guy, Akira... He has something wrong with him. He was born with something missing in him. That guy... Just for an instant, but once I looked into his eyes, all my instincts, my body, my mind, everything told me to run away from that monster as far as possible."

Tsubaki truly felt something cold go down her spine. She knew that Wolf was strong. She knew his instincts were very sharp. For Wolf's instincts to deliver such a warning to him, just what was hidden behind that amiable smile?

Wolf smilled bitterly, "That guy, he seems like a good guy. But I can tell from a glance, that guy is a monster from birth."

...

The battle had ended. With Akira watching over the warehouse no bandits could get in and take hostages and when Isamu disposed of the leader, the bandits were also quickly taken care of. The Hinode members suffered varying degrees of injuries, but fortunately, no one died. In the end, all that was left was to clean up and secure the kidnapped people, waiting for the nearest stationed shinobi to appear and take over.

Isamu sat on a cliff overlooking a giant green forest, his hair let down and his headband in his hands, looking at it with a dazed expression, "That person was very important to you it seems." Akira said as he went next to Isamu and sat down.

"Getting revenge... We will not stop you, but at least remember that there are people following behind you. Don't drag them down with you. I am sure that person would also want you to live." Arata came next to him, but still scolded him a little. Isamu had the right to get revenge, but now that they were a team, someone had to remind him that he held the lives of other people in his hands.

Isamu's body stiffened, "You guys knew all along, huh?" He asked.

Arata nodded without hesitation, "I know the look you had in your eyes a while ago. I saw the same look in the mirror many years ago. When I look at you I don't see someone who felt wronged, but someone who has a broken heart. That's why what you pursue revenge because of another person. I can tell, because I was the same."

Isamu let a small, lifeless smile appear on his face, "A she. That person was a she. Her name was Shizuka - the only love in my life."

Akira nodded his head silently, "So you began adventuring for the sake of getting revenge for this Shizuka." Akira said quietly.

A helpless smile formed on Isamu's face, remembering the past, "Not really. I was an adventurer way before I met her. In the past, there was this old gramps who lived in my village. He would always tell stories of ninja who can jump above trees, spit out balls of fire and vanish into thin air. As small brats, once we heard the stories, fires were lit in me and my friends. We wanted to go out and make something of our lives, so once we grew up a little, we put our money together to buy some equipment, joined a mercenary group and left the village..."

"... For a few years we travelled together, but reality was cruel. It came crashing down on us and me and my friend's dreams shattered once we realized how the world was really like. One day, after a mission, I was all bruised and battered and I was sitting under this old oak tree. I was thinking what I was doing with my life, chasing those stupid childish dreams... Then I met her. This quiet, plain and simple girl from a village came to the oak tree and when she saw me, she treated my injuries. Once I saw her, I knew that my journey wasn't without meaning. It was a journey so I could meet her. At first glance I fell in love. There was no reason or timing, I just saw her and fell in love."

"...She didn't really stand out. Her looks were average, she didn't like wearing flashy clothes and she was very quiet. Every single day, she would get up, clean the house, make some food and depending on the weather, she would either go to the old oak tree or to the village library and she would read books. A plain and average girl, but I loved her. I loved how she would sing a tune while making food, I loved how she would make some silly dances when she thought no one saw her and then she would get embarrased and stick out her tongue at me and I loved that she was a crybaby who would burst into tears when reading sad books or smile like an idiot while reading happy endings, or how she would furrow her brows when reading difficult books, but I couldn't tear my eyes off of her when watching her read those books. I could watch for many hours. She liked books, she liked peace and silence, she liked the smell of fresh air in the mornings. Even today, I can still remember it. During evenings she would sit on the porch and read her books, while I would sleep on her lap. I could never get enough of it, back then I felt truly at peace, like I found my true home."

"After we met, I left our mercenary band and I stayed in that village. I took up a guard post and I would spend my days like that. I would watch her read those books, I would get to eat her food once I returned after my shift. It was a simple life, nothing heroic, but I liked it. However, one day, problems arose in the fields. Apparently, a few boars were tearing up the fields. As the guard, I ran into the fields to deal with it, however, once I looked back I saw smoke rising from the village. I ran back as fast as I could, praying to god and every deity there was, that they would protect her. I ran back and there she was, in the same spot where she always read her books. But I knew..." Isamu's eyes moistened as his grip around the bandana tightened, "I knew I would never hear her humming those tunes, I would never see her make those silly dances, I would never get to watch her make those many faces while reading books. Thats because some bastard pierced a sword through her heart... After the destruction, all that was left were a few bandit corpses with red bandanas on their arms. The same bandanas these guys wore. Ever since that day, I picked up my sword again and I set out, traveling across the countries, tracking them, gathering information and allies. Eventually, I met you guys. That's my simple and stupid story." He finished with a small laughter. At the end a few tears rolled down Isamu's cheeks, but he simply wiped it away as he looked at the bandana.

"Back by the old oak tree, she didn't have any bandages, so she used this to cover my wounds. Now, this is all I have left to remember her." Isamu looked at the bandana and eventually let out a sigh and slowly stood up.

"Haaah, facing off against these guys got me so emotional, I even spit out my story like that, Its embarrasing, haha" He said with a ligh laugh.

Arata shook his head, "To care for another person and to lose them, I know how it feels. When I was at my lowest, I had an old captain watch over me, protect and guide me. You don't have to worry, I... We will have your back. You can go ahead and get your revenge, me and Akira will make sure no one interrupts."

Isamu smiled slightly, "...Thanks..."

Akira let a smile come form his lips, "So... With these guys wiped out what else is left?"

Isamu sighed, "Apparently, you and the bartender were right. There guys did have a friends in the shadows. From what the leader told me, the Blood Hounds were only a small branch of an organization run by a drug lord named Gato. Turns out, this guy has been running this slavery business for years and has many groups under him doing all the dirty work. Now, he has taken control of the Land of Waves, setting up his base there and he is bringing together all his men. I don't know which bastard killed Shizuka, so I can only kill all the Blood Hound members and the last one remaining is the previous leader. Turns out, that guy proved his worth to Gato a year back and got promoted and is now working directly under him. I kill the bastard along with Gato and then my revenge will finally be complete."

Akira nodded with a thoughtful expression, "Taken over Wave, huh?"

Isamu, "Yeah, but its a little bit hard with our numbers."

Akira shook his head, "No, its a good chance, I believe."

Arata and Isamu were surprised as they looked at Akira. Arata frowned slightly, "Our group may be strong, but we are injured and we don't have enough men to take on a force that can control the Land of Wave."

Akira nodded, "We can build up our strength with training. However, if we go to Wave, many opportunities await us there. If we save the villagers, our reputation will soar, making us the number one mercenaries. Plus, if we can get the wealth of a giant drug lord like Gato, we won't have to worry about money for a long while and we can train our men and increase our numbers quietly, while looking out for news about Mikado. Lets not forget that Isamu will also get his revenge finally."

Arata and Isamu seemed uncertain for a while. Isamu wanted revenge, but he already waited for three years, he wasn't suicidal, he could wait a little bit more. Arata also thought along the same lines. Akira seeing the hesitation smiled helplessly, "Don't misunderstand me, I am not saying to go right now. We can recover and train our men on the way. There is no rush to get there. Plus, we can get some additional recruits from the kindapped people here. I am sure that some of them are homeless or are in dire straits, so we can also increase our numbers."

Eventually the two thought it over and nodded their heads, albeit reluctantly. Akira seemed to have great confidence in taking down this drug lord and they knew that Akira wasn't the rash type, but was the planning type so it wouldn't hurt. Although, Isamu, was also influenced by his revenge, which was so very close at this point and Arata's confidence in Akira was already steadily increasing as he was constantly proving his abilities. It wasn't to the point where he believed him easily, but at least Akira proved that if he said something, then they definitely have a real chance in succeeding.

"Can you guys also count me in?" Came Akemi's voice from the side.

Akira looked to the side and saw Akemi standing there, a frown on her face. He immediately understood, "I guess you didn't find your items here?"

Akemi shook her head with an annoyed frown, "No, nothing. But you guys said that these guys work for Gato, which means this bastard must have received all the items that these guys plunder, right? If so, then there is a chance he has what's mine, so I want in." It was a request, but it was weirdly demanding. Like she was going to join the group either way and she was only asking for the sake of courtesies, which made all the men feel weird.

Akira looked over the young miss and smirked, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop her so he sighed, "We would be more than happy to have you with us, Akemi." Eventually he smiled.

Akemi also grinned, "Jeez, does he always talk like this?"

Isamu let out a laugh from the side, "Don't worry, you get used to it. Lets go, gramps, you should let those old bones of yours rest."

Akira let out a small chuckle, "Ahh, the younglings these days."

Arata also smirked, "If you are an old man, then what am I?"

Akira looked him over with an appraising glance, "A fossil."

Arata let out a small laugh, "Last time I checked I was only 25."

Isamu let out another laugh, "Careful, the wind might push you down, you old bastard."

Arata only smiled, he knew that Isamu was slightly older than him, but didn't say anything.

 **Chapter End**

 **Thank you for reading the chapter. Please leave a review with your opinion, I love knowing what you guys think. With that, this chapter is over, see you next time *wink*.**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer - I own nothing.

 **Short Author's Note:**

 **Hello, guys! Just a quick announcment. Unfortunately, the pace of the chapter uploads will be dropping for now. Christmas is upon us, however, I have an assignment due very soon, so I will have to divert most of my attention towards studying. I am very sorry, but you don't have to worry about me dropping this, because once christmas vacation starts and my assignment is finished, I will be picking up speed again :) Anways, this is it, go read the chapter and I hope you will have fun ;)**

Chapter 11: A path forward

"Wrong. Your chakra is all over the place." Akira's calm voice went inside Akemi's head for the hundreth time today.

A few days had passed after wiping out the bandits and the group was mostly resting and continuing their training. Like Akira predicted, among the kidnapped people there were some homeless ones and some in dire situations, so they recruited those people. The group, after taking care of the bandits, received a lot of money as compensation, because the bandits were rather famous, so they weren't in dire needs of money right now. Most of the time was spent training the new and old recruits while slowly making their way across the Land of Fire.

Along the way, the group would take a mission or two to take care of some bandits in the area or to escort a merchant caravan, however at this point, the whole group wasn't even needed some times. Considering the strength of the leaders, they alone, could wipe out smaller groups of bandits right now. Anyways, extra income was always welcome and the group needed experience, so along the way, they did anything that was convenient for them.

While travelling, Akira also noticed that although Akemi did receive ninja training, she wasn't particularly skilled, because she is still young. She was stronger than Arata or Isami in the past, but that was mainly talking in about raw strength or number of jutsu, but even then, she wouldn't be able to win in a real fight. And right now, the gap was already closed and among the three main leaders, no one would lose against the young miss.

Seeing the training Akira was delivering to the whole group, Akemi naturally became interested and even started doing her own practice, however, Akira noticed that she made mistakes here and there and decided to help out. Either way, its not like it would kill him to give some guidance and point out a mistake or two to a young girl. She may not stay with them for long, but the group had taken a liking to this young, energetic and tomboyish young lady.

"Gahh, I give up! Wrong this, wrong that, everything I do is wrong!" Akemi shouted as she stomped her feet in anger. Currently, Akira was trying to help Akemi improve her chakra control, but the girl had no patience, constantly failing at the crucial moments.

Seeing her stomp her feet in anger Akira chuckled, "Calm down, no one gets it on the first try. Practice makes perfect, as long as you don't give up, you will eventually get it."

Akemi turned towards Akira and looked at him from top to bottom, "You don't seem to have problems learning new things. Damn freak." She mumbled quietly.

Akira tilted his head because he didn't hear what Akemi said, "What? Sorry, I didn't hear you."

Akemi let out a sigh, "Nothing... Nothing at all! Either way, enough training for today, I have been sitting here for hours, I want to eat." Akemi was turning around and wanted to walk back to camp, but unfortunately, she had only spent a few days under Akira's tutelage and didn't know him quite well.

From under a tree Isamu chuckled, "Naive... This little lady truly is naive if she thinks Akira will let her go like that."

Arata shuddered involunteraly, "I pray for you well-being." He said a quiet prayer, acting as if she was dead already.

Akemi was surprised when a hand grabbed her shoulder from behind. She turned around and saw that Akira stopped her, "Now, now, what use is there to leave things half-finished? If you start training, then you should make at least some progress or reflect on your mistakes, otherwise, if you just come back everyday and hope that you will finally get lucky, you will get nowhere. I suggest you train for a bit more, at least until you finally get some insight on how to control your chakra."

Akemi saw that Akira was showing a kind, amiable expression and aura like always, but for some reason she believed that Akira wasn't asking and she couldn't help but tremble slightly, "Wa-wait! I have already spent a few hours training, I need some food and a break."

Akira let out a laugh, "You can rest later, but you should at least learn to control your chakra, because this may save your life tomorrow. Come, I will show you again."

Akemi wanted to protest, but soon realized that Akira started dragging her back and she couldn't resist him at all. She started panicking once she realized why the old members of the group would shudder once they heard Akira speak about training and she sent a panicked look towards Arata and Isamu. The two had already finished their jobs and training, so they were having a break. Arata pretended to not see the young girl's plea for help while Isamu was openly enjoying her misery and was waving at her with a grin on his face.

Akemi clenched her teeth and sent a glare filled with hate at them before Akira stopped and started giving her instructions again..., "Ahhh, I wonder if I will have a break or food today." Akemi couldn't help but think inside her head.

...

Time passed by and soon almost two months went by. The group eventually made it near a port, their training was finished for the time being and they had enough money. Now the group was planning how to move to the Land of Waves. The place where the drug lord name Gato is based.

The other leaders were reluctant at the beginning, but as the months passed by and the men became stronger and gained more experience from battles they were slowly gaining confidence, eagier to strike down the drug lord and to test their skills.

"We can rent several boats from the port and then land on a secluded beach in the Land of Waves. If we make camp in the forests and be stealthy about it, Gato won't know we are there and we can launch a surprise attack." Isamu's voice travelled throughout the tent.

Akira nodded his head, "Yeah, but we should disguise ourselves and rent boats from multiple crews. We don't know if Gato has any men on standby here, so if one group were to suddenly rent a few boats from one place, it would be signalling to Gato that we are coming. We will land on the southern shore and make camp in the forests and take our time scouting out the situation. From there, we will move accordingly."

Akemi watching the map furrowed her eyebrows. Akira saw that she had some questions and smiled, "Akemi, do you have some concerns?"

Akemi looked at Wave carefully, "I don't get it. Wave is so close to the Land of Fire, but why is Gato allowed to do what he likes there?"

Akira quickly understood her concerns. What she wanted to ask was, why did Konoha not send out any ninjas to take out Gato when he was taking over Wave. Akira sighed, "Well, thats because it would be a diplomatic problem. Wave is an independent village, so even if for the sake of helping Wave, if Konoha were to suddenly send out a bunch of ninja there, the other Four Ninja Villages would become suspicious that Konoha may actually use this as a pretext to take over Wave and annex it. If such a thing were to happen, Konoha would gain a commercial hub and would make a lot of money, while also expanding their territory and forces. The other countries can't allow that, so they are obviously watching Konoha like hawks, ready to move in, just in case Konoha decides to "Trick desperate people" or "use the misfortune of others for their own gain". Thats why, unless Wave formally asks Konoha for help and allows their forces to cross the border, Konoha can't act. And permission will obviously not be given, because the current lord of Wave is Gato and a single villager can't give permission for it. They can only send out a mission, but that will only help so much."

Akemi frowned as she looked at the map, "How stupid. Gato is doing what he wants and no one can help because of petty politics?"

Akira shrugged, "Our current peace is delicate. If the other countries see Konoha expanding their territories and influence, they will be dissatisfied and may even use that as a pretext to single out Konoha. In the eyes of the other kage, its probably better for Wave to fall into Gato's hands than in Konoha's, because they can take care of Gato whenever they want, but Konoha is already powerful, the last thing they want is for it to grow even more."

Arata nodded his head, "Gato also knows this, thats why he is so bold. All he can do at the moment, is to take over Wave completely as fast as he can, so that the villagers don't rebel and do something stupid."

Akira smirked, "Correct, and this is actually Gato's weakest and most crucial moment. He is standing on a very slippery slope, thats why he is gathering as many men as he can, however, according to our reports, Wave actually managed to send out some requests to Konoha. Using this opportunity, Konoha has already sent out several groups to help Wave, dealing some heavy damage to Gato's forces. Most likely, Konoha will send out their ace card soon, but we can also use this situation, while Gato is watching Konoha, to sneak behind his back."

Isamu smirked, "Alright then, I will gather some men and head out to get the boats."

Akira nodded his head, "We will be moving out at night."

The plans were made, the situation was as good as it will get and the men were ready. Everything was falling into place and the group quickly finished their preparations, rented the boats and during the night sailed out towards the Land of Wave.

Soon enough, under the cover of the night the group landed on the shore and quickly moved their stuff into the forest, setting up camp there and forming patrols, ready to take out all wandering bandits. The leaders also didn't waste time.

"I will go scout out the village, you guys stay here and organize everything while making sure Gato isn't aware of our presence." Akira said.

"I want to go too!" Akemi called out.

Akira raised one eyebrow and smiled helplessly. Over the two months Akemi did improve a lot, after all, he had personally taught her, however, he knew that she wasn't the scouting type with her tomboyish and brash personality, "We need all hands to watch over the camp at the moment. It will take me slightly longer to scout it out alone, but its better to be safe than sorry."

Akemi shook her head, "No way! Gato may have whats mine, so if I can spot some clues I want to see it."

Akira glanced at Isamu and Arata, but the two only shrugged. Eventually, Akira couldn't find a reason to have her stay so with a sigh he relented, "Alright, however, this is very important, so I will have you follow my instructions and you will have to keep you temper in check. Agreed?"

Akemi nodded with a grin, "I know, I know. Silent an steady and if someone spots me, loud and deadly."

Akira let out a chuckle, "I disagree with the loud part, but you can be as deadly as you want."

The two then left Arata and Isamu to deal with matter inside the camp and went towards the village. They ran through the forest as quickly and silently as they could, making sure no bandits spotted them. Akira noticed that Akemi was unusually quiet and docile, though he guessed it was because there is a chance her clan's artifact or scroll is in the base, so even she would get serious.

After a while of running the two finally emerged from the dark forest and saw a village. However, seeing the state of the village Akemi's eyes widened in surprise as she even brought a hand closer to her mouth. The village has already hit rock bottom. The buildings looked old and in need of repairs, there were very few shops out on the streets and even those few shops barely had anything to sell with the prices being sky-high.

The people were wearing old and dirty clothes, scared expressions on their faces, they were walking around with their heads down, trying their best to blend into the surrounding. Around the village you could see many children in the alleys, probably children who were abandoned or whose parents were killed by Gato.

"What the hell?" Akemi asked quietly. She then turned and looked at Akira, but was surprised when she saw that he was looking at the scene with disturbing calm, "Hey, Akira, aren't you... Disturbed, or anything?"

Akira glanced at Akemi, "Gato is a ruthless drug lord. He has a reputation for being cold-blooded and would do anything for money. I was more or less prepared for this beforehand.", hearing Akira's words Akemi nodded her head and turned back to the village, unaware of Akira's thoughts.

Honestly, even Akira was a little pertrubed by his calm. All logic dictates that someone like him should have felt disturbed or would feel pity for the villagers. Yet he didn't know why, but he didn't. All he could think of was how inefficient this way of ruling was. Gato can't slaughter the whole town, otherwise, it will give Konoha an excuse to send their ninja forces here, however, by pushing the villagers like this, he was cornering them, driving them to despair, which was a very dangerous thing, because if the villagers get pushed too far and realize they have nothing to lose, they may turn into a mob of suicidal maniacs.

Thinking along those lines cold sweat appeared on Akira's back as he couldn't understand his own way of thinking.

"What do we do now?" Akemi's quiet voice came from the side, breaking him out of his thoughts. Hearing her question Akira shook his head and quickly organized his thoughts as his eyes focused again and he started looking through the village.

After looking around he saw a group of bandits walking through the streets, talking, "We finally delivered that shipment. When is the next one coming?"

Another bandit counted his money, "The next shipment is due in a few hours."

The first bandit smirked, "Great, my arms are sore from all that heavy lifting. Lets go to a bar, I'm thirsty and I need a break."

The bandits quickly reached an agreement as they headed out to find the nearest place to get a drink, never noticing Akira watching them like a hawk. After listening to their conversation, a plan formed in his mind and Akira turned to Akemi, "We will be heading to the docks."

The bandits are delivering some kind of shipment to the docks, so it is obviously the best place to gather some information. If they can see what those shipments are, they can get some insight into Gato's next plans and even some information on his forces and bases. Akemi didn't argue, as she didn't really have a better plan, plus, if she could get a glance at those shipment logs, then perhaps she could see if her clan's scroll was taken to the island.

The two then quickly moved to the shadows and carefuly made their way through the village towards the docks. As they made their way forward they noticed that the amount of villagers was very rapidly reducing and the amount of bandits they saw was slowly increasing, "Well, no surprise, if this is the place where Gato's main shipments come to, then it is obvious he wants it under strict surveilance." Akira thought inside his head.

As they neared the docks Akira noticed a small group of bandits blocking his way. He quickly signalled Akemi and the two quietly disposed of the 4 bandits and hid their bodies. After those guys were taken care of, Akira then jumped to a tree and looked at the docks, noticing some bandits patrolling around and other bandits carrying some crates from place to place.

Akira and Akemi looked into each others eyes and nodded. They quickly checked their tools and after observing for a while, to understand the main patrol routes, the two quickly made their way through the shadows. The two walked behind a warehouse, and seeing an open window, they carefully made their way inside, making sure to remain as quiet as possible as to not be spotted. Once they made their way inside, the two quickly made their way behind a stack of boxes and hid in the shadows, observing the surroundings.

"Well, this was the last box. The shipments are sorted and now the other guys should come by to take these to Gato." A bandit said as he massaged his shoulders.

Another bandit stood next to him with a clipboard, "Don't relax yet, there is a shipment in 3 hours. I expect to find you here again at that time."

The first bandit sneered, but still obediently nodded his head and left. The second bandit stayed back for a while, writting something on the clipboard and having one last look at the boxes. Akemi looked at the clipboard in the bandits hand and took out a kunai from her pouch, however, she was surprised when Akira stooped her. He has a list of the shipments, he is all alone here and he is weak, why stop me? This was the obvious question Akemi was asking, yet did not say it out loud.

Akira also thought that way in the beginning, but the reason he stopped was because after looking at the bandit he realized something. This bandit was no regular bandit, Akira could feel chakra coming off of him. All living things in this world have chakra flowing through them, whether its animals, plants or humans, so why was that surprising? That is because there is always a difference between a human who unlocked his chakra and not. Even in humans who haven't unlocked their chakra there is a difference in quantity of chakra, but the flow itself would be more or less the same.

Meanwhile, inside ninjas the chakra flow would be different, that is because they train to increase the quantity of their chakra and they train to control it. That's why if you notice the difference in the chakra flow, it isn't too difficult to tell apart if a person has unlocked their chakra or not, and the bandit before them has definitely unlocked his.

"No surprise, there is no way Gato would hand over the shipment control and check to a bunch of incompetent bandits. He would need someone he can trust and someone who can mantain control in here." Akira noted in his head. Who better would fit all of those points than a paid ninja? After all, all that rogue ninja have are their reputations, if they have terrible ones, no one will hire them, so they are more trustworthy than undisciplined bandits.

Akira then sighed and decided to head back out and took Akemi with him. The two then quickly went back to the window and went back outside. Akemi looked at Akira with a frown, "Why did you stop me?" She asked, angry.

Akira let a small smile form on his lips, "That guy was a rogue ninja. If he were to disappear, it would be a direct signal to Gato that we are here and he would immediately comb the entire island. Meanwhile, that guy isn't stupid, if he were to suddenly faint, I doubt he would write it off as being overworked, which would also come to Gato's attention. That guy is simply too high up the ladder and there is no way to take care of him without forming any suspicions."

Akemi opened her mouth and then quickly shut it. She accepted the explanation, but that didn't mean she was satisfied, "So what do we do now?" She asked.

An amused look was on Akira's face, "Just like dealing with a small child." He noted.

Akira then cleared his throat, "Well, that guy should have a small office around here. Over there he should be keeping all of the shipment documents. Right now he is inspecting the shipments so he will take a while, we can use this time to break into his office."

Akemi's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing the words 'Break in' and she grinned, "Alright, lets go."

The two continued on their silent journey, quietly evading the patrols and eventually Akira saw a small house. It wasn't spectacular, but among these warehouses it stood out. It was the foreman's office, so the two looked around the dock one last time and then made their way towards the office.

Akira quickly ran up to the door and used a lockpick to unlock the door and the two rushed inside. With a soft click the door closed and the two started looking around the office. Overall, it was rather small, but it was good enough for a foreman to stay here and keep his document. The place was covered in paperwork, and boxes, showing that Gato was very busy with his shipment so far.

"Lets not waste any time. You check the boxes, I will check the desk." Akira said. That rogue ninja wouldn't be spending forever checking the boxes, so they had to move quickly.

Akemi, seeing the pile of boxes frowned, "Paperwork... Great, just what I wanted."

Akira chuckled, "Come on, move it." He said as he walked past her towards the table. He took a stack of papers and his eyes started scanning over them, "Weapons, food, drugs, slaves... Seems like Gato is bringing his entire operation to the island. He probably will turn it into his main base." He said quietly. Akira looked up from the papers as he heard something falling over, looked over and saw that Akemi toppled over a few boxes.

He sighed as Akemi started cursing the papers and cleaning up, "There is nothing new here. I already guessed that he would be bringing this stuff here... The only point is that he is bringing in more and more weapons, I guess he is worried about Konoha's ninjas now that he is so close to taking over Wave." Akira calmly analyzed.

He then looked behind him and saw a giant map of the island with various marked points, "I suppose those are the bases on the island. At least we got this."

"Hey, Akira..." Akemi's voice came from behind.

Akira turned around and saw Akemi looking at a document. Curious, Akira walked over and looked at the paper over her shoulder. Considering that Akemi was shorter than him, it wasn't difficult. Akira looked at the top of the page and saw the words, "Ninja items."

His eyes widened as he looked over the list, "Explosive tags, kunai knives, wires, rations, unedintified scrolls." Overcoming his surprise, he eventually nodded his head, "No surprise, we saw it previously, Gato has a few ninja employed, so he is probably preparing some supplies for them." He quietly explained to Akemi.

Akemi, however, furrowed her brows, "Yeah, but whats this 'Unidentified scroll' stuff? Do those sound like supplies to you?"

Akira looked at them and shrugged, "There were rumours about this stuff. One of the rumours were that the leader, Gato, may be a ninja item hoarder. I suppose its the truth, he was hoarding those items for the ninja under him, but he probably gathers additional stuff to entice stronger ninja to join him."

Akemi nodded her head and glanced at the words, "Large Unidentified Scroll x2" and narrowed her eyes.

Akira looked over the scroll and took out a notebook, "Write down all useful information, we will then leave before the foreman comes back. Also, put those boxes back like they were."

Akemi eventually nodded and started cleaning up. The two didn't want to meet the foreman yet, so they quickly wrote down of all useful information and quickly left the docks, heading back towards their base.

Chapter End.

 **Like always, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please drop a review and let me know what you think, I am always happy to hear your opinions. See you guys next chapter :)**


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